Black Lilies
by General Katyusha
Summary: Beacon Academy: Vale's most prestigious academy. Blake is looking forward to her new life in Vale, having just moved, but little does she know that her classmates are also looking forward to her! How will Blake handle this lily garden? Blake Harem, School-life AU.
1. Chapter I: Mazes

As Blake looked up to the gates of Beacon Academy, she couldn't help but feel more than a little bit intimidated. It was the most prestigious academy in all of Vale, and one of the top academies in Remnant entirely. The entire school was surrounded by a stone wall, adding a bit of mystery to the school to anyone who wasn't familiar with the campus, and the wrought iron gate was emblazoned with the school's emblem; a shield with two axes crossed behind it.

 _Weapons for an academy's insignia…interesting choice to say the least._

From what she had read, the academy grounds contained the academy itself, along with athletic facilities, high-tech science labs, an orchestral theatre, and even a rather large hedge maze, something that had gotten the nickname of the "Emerald Forest" for how large and complex the maze was. Even with all of these facilities, the school's most well-known feature was the strong teams that it built.

 _Yes, downplay your academic excellence and pure environment, and promote team building._

Blake shook her head, remembering how the pamphlet touted the team building over every single other thing that was a positive point for the school. Beacon was well known for producing students that were well endowed mentally, spiritually, and financially, yet the biggest point they wanted to get across was "building teams to last a lifetime."

This put Blake in an odd predicament. Her family had just moved from Vacuo in order for her father to organise and oversee the construction and opening of the first Vale branch of his café chain, "Jack Belladonna's Café and Bake Shop" (or as it's fondly known in Vacuo, "Jacky's"). As such, she had a very low chance of knowing anyone at the school, and was in a rather hard spot in finding friends.

It was also rather odd for the fact that Blake wasn't the most adept at making "friends." At her old school in Vacuo, she would spend her time reading books and generally being a loner, sitting out of the drama that seemed to follow the students around her like a plague from an angry god. It kept her out of trouble, for sure, but that sort of background would not be beneficial to her time here at Beacon, and she knew this. However, the thought of sitting by herself, reading and drinking a cup of tea was much more alluring than conversing about the boring trash and gossip that the girls at her old school would always talk about.

In reality, the only reason why she was going to this academy in the first place was because her family's first café just so happened to be near the academy, and she was able to easily pass the exams with little issue upon arrival. She had done very well, though it came to little surprise that several students still surpassed her. Beacon Academy didn't let just anyone in, after all.

*DING DONG DING DONG~*

At the sound of the warning bell, she hurried through the gate and onto the campus grounds for the first time. The first thing she noticed was that students were hurrying into what she could only describe as a bloody massive cathedral. It was in the distance a bit, on a slight hill, but it was massive. Three huge, Gothic-styled towers, and a very large stained-glass window on the front, showing off the school's logo again. She could also make out a rather large monument in the front, with warriors fighting off some sort of gruesome creature.

 _Glad to see this place isn't all rainbows and kittens._

She followed the students, figuring that they would know what was going on. Following the path up the hill (which looked much smaller from the gate), she received a much better look of the size of the campus. Even though the school, the facilities, the dorms, and this central cathedral meeting place were large and ornate, there was still plenty of green space, dotted with trees here and there, before leading out to forests that seemed to cover the perimeter as a secondary barrier from the outside. The cobblestone path itself was lined with flowers of all kinds, from roses to lilacs, foxglove to peonies, even a few exotic types that she couldn't quite identify.

 _I'll have to ask mother for one of her botany guides. It should have these varieties within its pages, and I could always study the flowers around campus for fun._

In her musings, she failed to notice that a girl in front of her had stopped, and she ended up catching the stranger off-guard and sent her to the ground.

"Sorry, I zoned out and I didn't see you standing there." Blake offered her hand to the girl she knocked over, who obliged and allowed Blake to help her up.

The girl looked rather young, shorter, with silver eyes and shortish, red-tipped hair. She had the normal Beacon Academy uniform, though with a red cape around her shoulders. Expecting a reprimand, Blake was surprised when the girl she knocked over giggled instead.

"Ah, no, sorry, that's my fault as well. I was looking at the flowers, and wasn't paying attention to…ah…" The younger girl trailed off as she looked at Blake, who waited patiently for the girl to continue.

"Ah…yeah…I-I need to catch up with my sister, bye!"

Before she could say anything more, the other girl sprinted up the hill, weaving between the other students with little difficulty. Blake merely stood and watched, both confused and amused at the girl's reaction.

 _Seems like she's a little shy,_ she thought with a smirk.

Blake looked over to the patch of flora that the strange girl was staring at, finding that it was devoid of the usual colours and instead was filled with a darker mix of hemlock, datura, and even the flower that held her namesake, belladonna.

 _All of them highly poisonous…this is what that girl found so interesting?_

Blake couldn't help but feel slightly intrigued by that. She had a cursory interest in botany due to her mother's fascination with herbal teas (and regular tea, and coffee…really anything with caffeine), and she knew that some girls had an interest in flowers, but usually it was always flower arranging, which she always found was dull. She didn't really care for _how_ the flowers matched with one another or _how_ the flowers should be placed in a bouquet, but _what_ the flowers did. She started to grow a few pots of mint and ginger on her windowsill to flavour tea (with her mother's guidance), but her pride and joy was a small pot of belladonna, which she had been taking care of for a few years. She found the deep purples to be beautiful, especially in the moonlight. The berries were also very cute.

Eventually, she made her way to the cathedral, feeling much more winded than she expected. _I really shouldn't have skimped on gym…_ Upon entering the grand doors, she took a cursory glance over the students, looking for the girl with the red cape. Unable to find her, she took place in the back, standing next to a tall girl with a long, red ponytail and emerald eyes. The taller girl looked down and smiled, holding a hand out to her, which Blake hesitantly shook.

"You must be new to Beacon this year as well! My name's Pyrrha Nikos, what's yours?"

 _Complete opposite of that other girl…but she seems friendly enough._

"My name's Blake Belladonna, nice to meet you Pyrrha."

Pyrrha's smile grew, much to Blake's surprise. _Well, can't say that it isn't a genuine smile_.

"Likewise," Pyrrha said, "I'm rather excited to see how the team selection will work this year. Last year's high school students had an impromptu boxing tournament!"

Blake did a double take at the girl's words. To start with, she couldn't imagine the "most prestigious academy in Vale" would have boxing matches to create teams. More than that, she had thought that the "team" aspect was merely talk, and didn't actually mean that actual teams would be formed between the students.

"What do you mean…team selection?" Blake asked, wanting to make sure that she understood the girl correctly.

"Oh, it's…well, actually, I think Headmaster Ozpin will explain well enough."

Pyrrha nodded towards the stage, and Blake saw that a man with silver hair and dark glasses had stepped forward, flanked by a blonde woman with a purple cape. He carried a cane in one hand and a mug in the other, and Blake noticed that the mug had the school's symbol on the front as well.

 _As if they can't get enough of themselves…_

"Good day, students," the man said, standing rather siffly at the front of the stage, "Congratulations on being accepted to Beacon Academy, Vale's most prestigious school for young men and women such as yourselves."

The students began to clap, apparently expecting this to be a proper moment, but they were swiftly cut off as the Headmaster raised his hand, motioning for them to be silent. Blake was rather surprised at the authority that the man exuded.

"However, you will be nothing unless you can work together," the man's words made many of the students shift around, looking troubled by his words, "That is why we shall begin the team initiations today. Professor Goodwitch will explain the process."

With that, the man walked backstage, leaving Professor Goodwitch alone to explain the initiation. Though she looked calm to everyone else, Blake noticed a flash of irritation cross her face before settling back into her calm demeanour, stepping forward to the microphone.

Blake felt a twinge of sympathy for the professor. _Ouch, left alone to the wolves. Poor Professor._

"As Headmaster Ozpin said, we will be having our initiation today. You will be blindfolded and lead into the forest by a teacher. When the bell tolls, you shall remove your blindfold and make your way to the central area of the maze. The first person you make eye-contact with will become your partner for the full time that you are here. Upon reaching the centre, you and your partner will take one of the artefacts and exit the maze."

A blonde boy in front of her raised his hand, and Blake noticed again a look of severe irritation flash across her features before going back to neutral. Blake couldn't help but, again, feel for the professor. _This poor woman probably has to deal with this shit every single day…admirable_

"Yes, Mr. Arc, what do you need?"

"Uh…what happens if we get lost in the maze?" The boy sounded rather nervous, and Blake didn't blame him. Reasonable question, she assumed.

Professor Goodwitch glared at the boy with such ferocity that she could almost see the poor boy's soul cower in fear. "Then hope that you get a partner that is good with their surroundings. Is there anything else?"

"N-No, Professor Goodwitch."

"Good. Now, if there are no other questions, please head outside and a teacher will be with you soon."

Blake watched as all of the students began to file out, hearing whispers about "The Wicked Witch" from the departing students. _Seems like she has a bit of a reputation that I wasn't aware of._

She sighed and she joined the procession, looking back towards the Professor as she did. The woman looked absolutely livid, and Blake guessed that she didn't expect anyone to look back at her. However, Professor Goodwitch looked up at Blake and caught her gaze. Not knowing what else to do, Blake merely smiled and nodded sympathetically. Expecting a glare like what the blonde boy received, she was surprised as Goodwitch smiled back, tiredly, before heading off the stage.

 _Well, never hurts to get the professor on your good side, eh?_

She was surprised when she heard a soft chuckle from her left, and turned to see Pyrrha hiding her smile behind her hand. Blake gave the girl a questioning look, raising an eyebrow, and Pyrrha cleared her throat.

"Sorry," she said, smiling, "I just found your smile to be cute." Noticing the surprise on Blake's face, she blushed and waved her hands frantically, "Er, I didn't mean- I…well…I'm sorry!"

Blake chuckled and shook her head, "You're perfectly fine, Pyrrha," she said, smiling. Looking back over to Pyrrha, she added "Your laugh is pretty cute too."

Her face turning bright red, Pyrrha muttered a quick "thank you" before hurrying out of the cathedral, leaving Blake alone with a smirk on her face.

 _Well, looks like she's a bit shyer than I took her for._

Blake waited around with the other students outside of the cathedral, watching as the group was slowly dissolved. It was then that she realised the class size wasn't extremely large, maybe twenty or so people from what she saw, but some students might have been taken before she got out. While waiting, she noticed a white-haired girl watching her from across the way. Taking it as a challenge, she watched the girl back, matching her gaze.

 _Scar over her left eye?_ For most people, scars would really stick out and mar the other person's looks, but Blake always found that scars added another layer of mystery and interest, and this girl was no exception. _Looks fairly fresh too…interesting._

After a while, the white haired girl began to stomp over to where she was standing, much to Blake's amusement. _Short people trying to look intimidating, just makes them look adorable._ Blake merely watched as the girl made her way over, getting well within most people's personal space. She would have taken a more offensive stance if it weren't for the fact that she had to look down to meet the girl's eyes.

The short girl jabbed a finger at her, "What's your problem!"

"My…problem? What do you mean?" Blake was absolutely stunned that the girl had decided to call *her* out on the staring when she had started it first.

"You've been staring at me for the last ten minutes!" the girl looked rather irate, "Do you even know who I am?"

Blake smirked and shook her head, "Not a clue, but I take it you'll enlighten me?" _Snobby, entitled princess? Check. Of course a school like this would have at least one of these. Dealt with plenty of them in Vacuo, and I have no time for another one._

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company." The girl took a sort of haughty pose, and Blake had to control the laugh that wanted to escape her lips. It was not that she viewed the Schnee Dust Company as meaningless. She realised how powerful the Schnee Dust Company was, and her father had worked several important deals with them in the past, but it was the fact that the girl looked a bit ridiculous with her arms crossed under where her chest would be.

 _Let's knock her down a notch._

"Ah, I didn't realise. My name is Blake Belladonna, and I must apologise for the grave mistake that I made, Miss Schnee," Blake bowed, much to Weiss's surprise. The white haired girl smiled, pleased with Blake's reaction.

"Apology accepted, Blake."

"I was merely undressing you with my gaze," Blake added with a smirk.

 _Now she gets really mad._

Weiss's face flared red, and she took a look that was equal amounts rage, surprise, and another emotion that Blake couldn't quite pinpoint. _Is that happiness?_

"I- You- How dare you!" With that, Weiss stormed off, Blake snickering as she watched the girl go away. _Not the best way to make friends, but her reaction was well worth the price of admission._

"Miss Belladonna."

Blake turned around, and was surprised to see that Professor Goodwitch was standing before her, a clipboard in her hands. _I really hope she didn't just see what I did._

If she did, she didn't show it. The professor handed Blake a black cloth, which Blake took and began tying around her eyes. _If this wasn't the most prestigious school in Vale, I'd be concerned right now._

"I'm pleasantly surprised to see that you can tie your blindfold yourself." Blake could hear an underlying tone of relief from the professor, "The last few students I had to take had absolutely no idea how to work a knot."

Blake chuckled and shook her head, "It's nothing really. I take it that you're leading me into the maze, Miss Goodwitch?"

"Yes, I am." There was a slight pause, "You don't mind if I lead you by the hand, yes? The path is a bit bumpy."

Blake thought about cracking wise, but decided against it. "Please lead the way, Professor."

With that, Professor Goodwitch took her hand and led her towards, what she could only assume, was the maze. Blake noticed that the professor kept a rather gentle grasp on her hand, which was rather surprising. Professor Goodwitch's hands were also very soft, she noticed.

"Your family runs the café just down the road, yes?"

 _Is she making small talk?_ Blake was rather surprised, pleasantly so. She wouldn't have expected a teacher with such a sour reputation to make small talk with just a student.

"Yeah, Jack Belladonna's Café and Bake Shop. My father wanted to open up a branch in Vale."

"I'm very pleased to hear that," Professor Goodwitch said, "I remembered when I was teaching in Vacuo. I'd visit Jackie's every day just to read and have tea."

Blake couldn't help but chuckle, easily able to picture the Professor sitting by the window, sipping some Earl Grey and glaring at every student who came through the door. _I wonder what she'd wear. Casual dress perhaps?_

"I suppose we'll be seeing a lot of each other then, Professor Goodwitch."

"Ah…" the professor paused, "You can call me Glynda, just not in front of the other students."

 _Wow. Here I was, worrying about making friends the first day here, and I've already gotten a professor on my side._

"Well then, Glynda, you can simply call me Blake."

After that, the two continued in silence, allowing Blake to hear the rustle of what she assumed to be the surrounding hedges. Eventually, Glynda stopped, and Blake halted as well. She felt a small device press into her hand, replacing the gentle grip of her professor.

"When this device vibrates, you may remove your blindfold and begin the hunt." Glynda placed a hand on Blake's shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze, "Good luck, Blake."

Blake merely nodded, and she heard her professor's soft footsteps as she walked off. _Almost motherly in how she acts. Rather refreshing, actually._ Figuring that she would be waiting for a while, Blake decided to take the time to think back on the people she met so far.

 _First was that young girl with the red cloak. Shy, definitely, but she seems to be interested in poisonous plants and flowers. Very, very intriguing._

 _Then the girl with the ponytail, Pyrrha. Tall, pretty, kind, and I swear I've seen her from somewhere before. Nevertheless, a bit socially awkward, but definitely a sweetheart._

 _Weiss Schnee. Haughty, bossy, and more than a little entitled. Still, her name carries a lot of weight, and I have a feeling she isn't used to being knocked down like that. I wonder though, why was she staring at me? Might have to ask her about that.  
_

 _Finally, Professor Glynda Goodwitch. Very professional, very stern, but maybe those are just appearances? She was more kind than I'd expect from a professor, especially one that cut down that poor blonde boy like wheat to a thresher. Better to be on her good side I suppose._

Blake couldn't help but smile. Though she hadn't made any guaranteed friends yet, she felt as though she was making good progress. None of them seemed like the boring crowd that she went to school with in Vacuo, not even Weiss.

 _I think this school will be quite an interesting journey._

The small device began to vibrate, and Blake swiftly removed her blindfold. Stuffing the fabric in her pocket, she took a look at the device, and found that it had already turned off. Shrugging, she put that in her pocket as well, and began to traverse the maze. She was thankful for the small plots of flowers and statues that littered the maze, which served very well as landmarks, but after what felt like an hour of walking, she realised that she was hopelessly lost.

"Never was a huge fan of mazes…" she muttered to herself, passing the same statue of the same Goliath for the third time. She heard a rustling from her left, and she took a defensive stance. _Maybe those judo lessons actually will come in handy?_

Blake was surprised as a girl plopped out of the hedge, the girl stumbling forward a bit before straightening up and brushing off her shoulders. The girl had long, unruly blonde hair and lilac eyes. She began picking twigs out of her hair before noticing that Blake was standing there. Grinning, she stuck out her hand.

"Hey there kitty cat! The name's Yang, Yang Xiao Long!" Blake narrowed her eyes at the girl before dropping her defensive stance, grabbing the girl's hand to shake. She was taken by surprise as the blonde pulled her in and caught her in a tight embrace.

"What…are you doing?" Blake asked, feeling her ribs groan dangerously.

Thankfully for her bones, Yang let go of her, still flashing a stunning smile. "Sorry, just felt like greeting you that way! What's your name, kit' cat?"

"Blake Belladonna, though I must ask what your reasoning is for the…unique nickname." Blake sounded very unamused, causing Yang to grin wider. _Cheeky bastard._

"Your bow looks like a pair of cat ears. Pretty cute, really matches you."

"Oh…" Blake reached up and touched her bow, having forgotten that it was there, "T-thanks."

"Wow, don't tell me a cat got your tongue!" Yang snorted and giggled at her joke, while Blake merely stared at the girl, visibly unamused.

 _Of course, the girl that I have to get as a partner thinks that she's the biggest jokester of all time._

"Wait…" Yang looked her up and down, causing Blake to feel a bit…exposed. _Why is everyone staring at me today!_

"Did you happen to run into a little girl wearing a red cape today?"

Blake blinked in surprise and nodded. "Yeah, she was looking at some flowers and I didn't see her stop."

"Ooooh! That's my little sister, Ruby! She came up to me before the ceremony and started just gushing over this girl that bumped into her." She giggled, "Oh, she had the most beautiful hair! Oh, she was so pretty! Crap, I didn't ask her name!" Yang mimicked Ruby's voice, rather poorly.

 _Gushing over me?_ Blake was going to bring that up, but Yang continued before she had the chance.

"Oh man, now we definitely need to get on a team with her! I didn't believe her at first, since she had never shown an interest in anyone before, what with her time spent in track and gardening, but now that I've met her little crush…"

"Wait wait wait," Blake held up her hands for Yang to stop, which she did. "How do you know she was talking about me?"

To her credit, Yang's face turned a bit red, "Well…she said that a really pretty girl ran into her…I just kinda put one and one together."

 _Wow. What a roundabout way to call someone pretty._

Blake decided to not bring it up, though she still smirked. "Fair enough. Now, how about we make our way to the centre? We still have a team to form."

Yang nodded, and the two made their way through the maze together. They put their two paths together, and made new routes in return. Not much talking was done while they walked, both simply enjoying the sound of the wind rustling through the maze.

 _I could get used to coming through here._ Blake could only imagine the peace she'd get from just walking into the maze, finding a quiet spot, and just reading the day away.

After a while of walking, Blake realised that they had gotten lost again. While definitely in a completely new area, they had been walking in a circle for the last ten minutes. She sighed and tugged on Yang's sleeve.

"We've been walking in the same circle for the past ten minutes." Blake sounded rather annoyed at this.

"Yeah…I remember seeing that rosebush before…" Yang pointed to a bush over to the left. Before Blake could comment on how unhelpful that observation was to their current situation, she heard two familiar voices on the other side.

"I told you that we were walking in a circle, dolt!"

"Hey, I'm trying, okay?! This maze is really, really confusing, and you getting mad isn't helping!"

"Ugh, I told you we needed to turn left here! Why didn't you listen to me the first time!?"

"The last time we followed your direction, we walked straight through a briar patch! You're not any better, princess!"

"I TOLD YOU TO STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

 _Ruby and Weiss? Oh, poor Ruby, having to put up with the Schnee heiress in this perplexing maze._

"Ruby! Over here!" Yang had also realised that it was Ruby's voice on the other side of the hedge, and she decided to catch her attention by shouting. Blake wasn't much of a fan of her tactics, instead wishing to simply go towards them instead of bringing more attention to themselves, but she couldn't deny the effectiveness as Ruby arrived in short order, with a rather flustered Weiss trailing behind. The flurry of rose petals that followed the caped girl was an interesting accoutrement.

 _She ran so fast that the rose petals flew off. That's…impressive._

"Ruby! I finally found you!" Yang scooped her sister into hug, and Blake almost felt her heart melt at the rather heart-warming scene. _They must care for each other quite a bit. It's rather endearing, honestly._

Weiss finally caught up with the group, her face a bit red from exertion, though whether from shouting or running was the question in Blake's mind. Opening her mouth to no doubt reprimand the girl for running away, she noticed that Blake was present, and instead she turned her attention away from Ruby towards her.

"You!" Weiss jabbed her finger in Blake's direction, reminding her of their first encounter, "Don't think I've forgotten that incident earlier! How dare you, thinking that such a thing was proper to say!? It was highly inappropriate, and frankly I should have you charged with sexual harassment for what you said! You…you…dolt!"

Blake merely watched in growing amusement as Weiss rambled on, noticing that Ruby and Yang had turned their attention to the tirade and were becoming more and more intrigued. At the mention of "sexual harassment," Ruby's face took a look of horror while Yang's took a look of utter amusement and glee. Finally, Weiss stopped her shouting long enough to realise that two other people were present. Instead of being embarrassed like Blake thought she would, Weiss instead pointed to Ruby, a scowl on her face.

"And you! Why did you run off like that!? I could barely keep up!"

"It's not my fault you're not as fast as I am…"

"Why…I can be just as fast! We were just walking a lot, so I was already fatigued!" Weiss glanced away from Ruby, and Blake could tell that she was rather embarrassed that someone was better than her. _The all-powerful heiress to the most powerful company in all of Remnant, and she feels bad that a little girl can out-sprint her._ Blake found it rather endearing, in a way. It made Weiss seem a lot more human, instead of some kind of trophy to be put on a pedestal.

Apparently, Yang felt the same as Blake, because she started to snicker before bursting into peals of laughter. Ruby looked confused, Weiss started to turn red with rage, and Blake couldn't help but wait for this golden situation to unfold fully.

"Y-You…you're so…" Yang was doubled over, and she started to breathe deeply in order to gain control of her facilities, "You…are jealous of Ruby?"

Blake saw Weiss's eye twitch, and before she could explode, Blake made the decision to defuse the situation before their makeshift team erupted into a two-on-one ( _or maybe Ruby would stay out of it?_ ) fight. Blake knew for a fact that she wasn't going to choose a side, not this early.

"Alright, that's enough Yang. Let's give Weiss a break, alright? You did say that your sister was in track after all, right?"

Yang cleared her throat and nodded, scratching her head sheepishly, "Yeah, she was the star runner for Signal. She could run circles around the third year students, and she had just started school!" She emphasised this by throwing her arm around Ruby's shoulder, making the young girl blush fiercely.

"Yaaaaaaaang, I told you not to tell people about that…" Ruby hid herself behind her cloak, something that Blake couldn't help but find adorable.

"Oh, Ruby, don't be ashamed of your accomplishments!" Yang gave her sister a friendly squeeze, "You should be proud, Racin' Red."

The name completely passed over Blake's head, but from the way Weiss's eyes lit up (as well as Ruby's face), she could tell that it meant something rather large.

"Wait… _you're_ Racin' Red?" Weiss's voice oozed with disbelief, and Blake took it as a sign that Weiss either loved watching school sports, or that Ruby's name had spread just that far. _Well, guess that shows what I might have learned if I had paid attention to any of the school activities…or gossip._

Ruby nodded meekly, digging the toe of her boot into the ground, "Y-Yeah…but I always preferred the gardening club! I only joined track because the coach insisted I did…"

"He insisted?" Yang chuckled, "He was practically on his hands and knees begging you, sis!"

Ruby merely lowered her head, hiding deeper into her cape as Yang laughed. Weiss looked absolutely stunned, but Blake still had a question to ask.

"Wait, what did Ruby do to catch his attention?" Blake, having not kept up with school sports, felt as though she was out of the loop. Yang merely grinned.

"He saw her sprinting to the school one day, outpacing two bicyclists and one of his top runners."

Ruby jabbed Yang in the side with her elbow, glaring at her, "Quit it! It was your fault that we were late! If you hadn't stayed up all night watching po-"

Before Ruby could continue, Yang pressed her hand over Ruby's mouth, her face lighting up. Weiss and Blake both gave her an odd look, and Yang could only laugh nervously.

"Y-Yeah, my fault that we were late, sorry, she's right. That's all we need to gather," She released her hand from Ruby's mouth and gave her a push towards Blake, who caught the girl, "We need to get going, right?! Artefacts and the like to collect! Tally ho!" Before anyone could say otherwise, she began to head back through the maze.

Blake shook her head at the foolishness of continuing without the group, and looked down to the girl in her arms. She had unconsciously wrapped her arms around her, and she noticed that Ruby also had her arms around her waist. "Are you alright, Ruby?"

Ruby looked up at her, and her face turned to the colour of her cloak before she sprinted off towards Yang, catching up to her in a matter of seconds. Blake could only blink at how quickly the girl left, and she decided to turn her attention to Weiss, who was watching the other two head off with barely restrained anger. Blake walked over and placed her hand on Weiss's shoulder, causing her to jump.

"So, Weiss, should we catch up to them?" Blake looked down and smiled at Weiss, hoping to at least smooth over their rather rocky start. Weiss looked up to Blake, and she sighed, nodding.

"They're going the wrong way though," Weiss said, irritation in her voice. Blake could tell that Weiss was getting a bit worn out from the maze, and Blake couldn't blame her. She was also starting to feel a bit fatigued and more than a little annoyed at the maze. _Why couldn't they just do a lottery drawing, or even a bloody contest, not searching a bleedin' maze._

"Blake?" Blake shook her head, realising that Weiss was talking to her. Expecting irritation, she was surprised that Weiss held a look of minour concern, "Are you alright? You look a bit frustrated."

Blake smiled and shook her head, "Nah. Let's hurry up so we can stop those two before they get more lost, eh?"

Weiss nodded, and the two headed off towards Yang and Ruby, catching up with them not too long after. The four continued their search through the maze, but unbeknownst to them, they were being watched over…

* * *

Ozpin watched Glynda with some concern, noticing how the veins in her head seemed to have popped. He looked over at Professor Oobleck and Professor Port, who both held rather worried looks.

"Ah…Glynda, maybe you should start watching a different group of students? You've been watching Ruby's group for a while now…"

Professor Port grunted and nodded, "Indeed, Glynda, you seem to be rather upset. Too much anger clouds your judgement, after all."

"Indeed! I would have to say that you seem very close to blowing up on any of us should we end up angering you any further!" Oobleck took a quick sip of his drink, "Knowing how angry you can get, that would be bad for the three of us!"

Glynda lowered her binoculars and quickly turned towards Ozpin and the others, a deep look of rage on her features before she turned back to the scene. The three of them took her nonverbal communication as a sign that their arguments were nugatory, and they merely watched with varying levels of nervousness as Glynda seemed to get even angrier…

Ozpin couldn't help but wonder what she was looking at, but he had to admit that it was a pleasant surprise to see Glynda care about something so deeply, even if it meant that the three of them would find themselves at the pointed end of her blade of rage.

 _Maybe one of our students finally got below that hard exterior?_

* * *

In another part of the maze, Pyrrha was having a rather enjoyable time being led around by a sweet yet incompetent blonde boy…if you would replace "enjoyable time" with "feeling sorry for the poor boy so she let him lead."

 _I wonder where that black haired girl went…Blake. She seemed like she would have been great as a partner._ Ever since she had met the girl, she couldn't help but think of her. She seemed so mysterious and intelligent, and Pyrrha felt compelled to find out more about her.

Still, as it stood, she was stuck with this boy, who introduced himself as Jaune. He really was a rather sweet boy, but he had absolutely no leadership qualities besides his confidence. She sighed inwardly as they turned another corner…the same one that they had passed for the fifth time.

"Jaune…we've passed this corner several times now." She had kept up her perfected faux-pleasantries, and though her smile looked genuine, she was starting to get more and more irritated by the boy's antics. "Maybe I should take the lead?"

"Now now, Pyrrha, I'm sure we're going the right way." Pyrrha had to give it to the boy, he was able to keep up the appearances of being confident, but she could tell that he was putting up a front. _At least he tries, I suppose…_

Deciding to take matters into her own hands, she merely grabbed the boy by the back of his shirt and pulled him along, easily able to keep a hold of him "H-Hey! Let go of me!"

Pyrrha ignored his pleas as she made her way through the maze, and it wasn't too long before she came across the centre of the maze, where many over-sized chess pieces were located. As she entered the centre, she saw a ginger-haired girl excitedly leap over the hedge, falling into a combat roll and snatched both rooks as she rolled by them. A few moments later, a taller boy with black hair and pink eyes (and a pink highlight in his hair, she realised) came in, breathing heavily.

 _What._

"I'm the queen of the castle~!" The ginger-haired girl began dancing, and the boy walked over, setting a hand on her shoulder. She calmed down almost immediately, though she booped him on the nose and snorted before giggling.

"Nora…you aren't supposed to jump over the hedges." The boy had a rather neutral tone of voice, though Pyrrha noticed a very small smile on his face.

"Ugh, whatever Ren, you can choose the _boring_ way if you want, but I'm going for efficiency!"

"Um…hello." The two looked over at Pyrrha, who was waving at them. "Well, I suppose that we'll make a group, yes?"

"Yup! Here!" Nora launched the second rook at Pyrrha, who caught it one-handed. She looked it over, not noticing anything particularly special about it, but she shrugged and stuffed it into her pocket.

"Who's the baggage?" Nora pointed at the boy that Pyrrha was dragging, and she let him go. Jaune stood up and brushed himself off, taking a confident pose.

"Name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls of the tongue, ladies love it."

Pyrrha chuckled, "That's what he told me, but it seems that his mother is the only lady that really loves it."

Jaune's confident pose fell apart and he sighed, scratching his head, "W-Well, they will love it."

"I'm sure they will, Jaune." Pyrrha smiled sympathetically and patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. "At any rate, we should begin our trek back, yes?"

Ren and Nora nodded, and the four of them began to make their way out of the maze. The four of them chatted amicably as they did, though Pyrrha was still a tad bit disappointed that she hadn't found the girl she met earlier.

 _I hope her team is at least competent…_

"I told you we were going the wrong way!"

Pyrrha and the rest of her team looked over towards where the shout game from.

"Well, excuse me, but you haven't been helping much either!"

"Guys, please stop…"

Jaune looked over to Pyrrha, "Uh…do you think they might need help?" Pyrrha looked back to him, and was about to tell him that they needed to continue going forward when another shout came from the unknown group.

"Will you two stop arguing!?"

 _That…sounds like Blake!_ "Yes, Jaune, and we need to go help them!" She grabbed the boy by the wrist and forcefully pulled him in the direction of their voices.

* * *

Blake watched as Yang and Weiss began to go at it, with Ruby trying to stop the two of them from fighting. They had been travelling through the maze for what seemed like an hour, and the patience of the other three members had finally worn away. It began with Yang leading the way, and while Ruby had high optimism in her sister, Weiss and Blake didn't have nearly as much, though Blake kept quiet about it. Weiss began to make small jabs at Yang's ability to lead, until finally Yang decided to hand leadership to her.

So, then Weiss began to lead, though it wasn't long before she, too, proved to be unable to navigate the maze. She was more stubborn than Yang, and she bit back whenever Yang made a quip against her. The back-and-forth slowly grew into full-on arguments, and finally the tension snapped as they passed the same statue for the fifteenth time.

"I told you we were going the wrong way!" Yang was yelling now, pacing back and forth as Ruby tried to calm her down.

 _Strange, I could have sworn that her eyes were violet, not red…_

"Well, excuse me, but you haven't been helping much either!" Blake had to give it to Weiss. She was much shorter and definitely didn't look as strong as Yang (who Blake swore was giving every opportunity to show off her abs), but she still stood her ground.

 _She's either foolish, stubborn, brave, or a combination._

Ruby nervously looked between the two of them, and Blake could see the beginnings of tears in her eyes. "Guys, please stop…" However, Yang and Weiss didn't notice her, and Blake watched the tears begin to trail her cheeks.

 _Alright, now that's enough._

"Will you two stop arguing!?" Weiss and Yang looked over at Blake, who was glaring at the two of them before motioning her head towards Ruby, who was now sniffling and wiping her eyes. Yang immediately broke off and ran over to her, hugging her and rubbing her back.

"I'm sorry Rubes, I'm sorry. We'll stop, okay?" Yang spoke softly, and Ruby nodded through her sniffles, wiping her eyes again. Blake looked over to Weiss, who was watching the two. She caught Blake's gaze and she sighed.

"I agree to stop arguing," Weiss looked away from Ruby, but Blake could tell that her voice was genuine, "I'm just…frustrated."

Ruby smiled at Weiss, "I understand Weiss…I just don't like everyone arguing."

"Hello again!"

Everyone looked over to the other end of their corridor, and Blake noticed that the red haired girl from before was there. She waved at the group, and Blake waved back, though the rest of her team members were still a bit surprised about the whole ordeal.

"Oh, hey Pyrrha," Blake smiled as the girl approached, "How has your search of this blasphemous maze been?"

"Oh, well, we found the centre a little bit ago actually. It sounds like you guys are having a bit of trouble?"

Blake sighed and nodded, "Yeah, a bit…do you think you could help us?"

Before Pyrrha could answer, Jaune stepped forward and put on his most confident pose, strutting past Blake and towards Weiss, who watched him with a mixed look of annoyance and disdain. He flashed a cheesy grin, and Blake had to hold in the laughter that was threatening to come forth from his actions.

 _Oh sweet divines, he is actually going to try and hit on her._ Blake would have felt bad for the boy if this entire scene didn't seem so comical.

"Well, hello there snow angel," Jaune said this in what Blake could only assume was his most suave tone of voice…which is to say, it was laughable. Still, she gave him props for trying.

Weiss, on the other hand, was not going to give anyone props for anything, "Snow angel? Really now, you couldn't think of anything better?"

Jaune had an almost serene smile on his face, "Nope, but I would have to say that angel suits you well."

Weiss put her head in her hands and sighed, and Jaune took that as a sign to put his arm around her shoulders, "I heard they're making teams-"

"I'm already taken."

Everyone looked rather surprised at Weiss's declaration, and Blake could see the very moment that Jaune's heart tore in two. He let go of her, nodded, and sulked back over to his group. The tall, black haired boy gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

 _Ouch. Weiss doesn't pull any punches, does she?_

Weiss looked rather confused at the sudden change in atmosphere, "What? I do already have a partner. Professor Ozpin stated that our partner would be whoever we made eye contact with first, and that happened to be Ruby in my case."

Jaune immediately turned around and flashed Weiss another smile, "So, other than the group thing, you're single? I'm a natural blonde you know."

Weiss blanched at that statement, and both Blake and Yang couldn't help but snicker slightly. Pyrrha merely smiled sweetly as she ushered Jaune back over to Ren before returning to Blake.

"At any rate, we would love to help you to the centre. If you would like…" Pyrrha held out her hand to Blake.

Blake smiled and nodded, reaching to shake Pyrrha's hand. Before she could, however, Weiss reached forward and shook her hand instead, causing both Pyrrha and Blake to look rather surprised. She had the complete look of a professional, however, and Pyrrha shook her hand in return, also keeping a professional look on her face.

"It is in much better grace to shake the leader's hand, isn't it? No doubt you are leading your group as well?" Weiss asked in a very kind and professional tone, yet Blake could tell that something was off with it.

Pyrrha nodded, "I…suppose it is. I'm sorry, I figured that Blake was the leader of this group."

"Ah, simple mistake, but please, lead the way."

Yang opened her mouth to speak, but Ruby nudged her in the side and shook her head, putting a finger to her lips. Ren had an eyebrow raised in curiosity, Nora was snickering in the back, and Jaune simply looked confused. Blake had to question why Weiss would step in as such, but she decided to save such thoughts for later.

Pyrrha turned and began to lead the group to the centre, and before long the group of eight reached the middle. Yang went over to one of the knight pieces and picked it up, turning back to Blake.

"Well, how about this cute little pony?" Yang smiled and held the piece out to her. Blake chuckled and nodded, taking the piece and putting it in her pocket. Ruby grabbed the other knight piece, and the eight of them began their journey out of the maze.

However, something felt off to Blake, and she couldn't help but feel that they were being watched from far away…

* * *

*SNAP*

Ozpin, Oobleck, and Port all watched in amazement as the binoculars in Glynda's hands snapped in two. Ozpin heard Professor Port swallow and take a step back, while Oobleck nearly choked on his drink. He merely sipped his coffee, noticing how tense Glynda seemed to be.

"Hmm…Glynda, might I suggest heading to the entrance of the maze? No doubt whoever you are looking after will be there soon?" Ozpin simply watched Glynda, sipping his coffee.

 _I really hope she doesn't decide to turn around and punch me._

Glynda nodded and headed away from the group, leaving the binocular pieces with Port. The three professors watched Glynda head off to the maze. Professor Port cleared his throat and looked up to Ozpin, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Ozpin, what exactly do you think is going on with Glynda? I've never seen her this…driven!"

Oobleck nodded in agreement, taking a long sip of his beverage, "Indeed, Ozpin, do you know anything about this change in our dear Glynda? I haven't seen her this excited about something since she heard about that café opening up down the road!"

"Mmm…indeed you are right, gentlemen," Ozpin took a long sip of his coffee, "I do wonder, though, just how she is going to react to finding out about what is making her feel this way."

 _Indeed, Glynda, just how will you handle your emotions when you find out?_

* * *

 _I can't believe I have to work with those idiots!_

Glynda looked absolutely livid as she made her way to the maze, passing several groups of students who hurried out of her way. She completely ignored them, however, as she arrived to the entrance of the maze.

 _I'm mad? No I'm not mad! Why would I be mad about Miss Xiao Long ogling Blake? Why would I be mad about Miss Nikos trying to hold her hand? Why would I be mad about Miss Rose basically coping a fe-_

Glynda caught her thoughts before they went too far. _Deep breaths, Glynda…deep breaths._ She began her deep breathing exercises, and before long she was completely neutral.

 _Atta girl Glynda, no reason to feel that non-existent anger towards your students, yep. Everything's peachy._

After a short wait, Glynda saw the group of eight come out of the maze, all chuckling and talking amongst themselves. Glynda couldn't help but notice how Yang, Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha were all staying rather close to Blake…too close in her mind. She cleared her throat rather loudly, causing all of them to look up at her. Blake smiled, and Glynda couldn't help but give the girl a smile of her own.

 _She seems promising…respectful, kind, intelligent, she seems to have it all._

"Now that you have all returned, I shall escort you to your dorms. We will be having a celebration banquet at 1900. Please be in the main hall by that time, thank you."

Before Glynda could head off, Jaune raised his hand, much to her inner irritation. "Yes, Mr. Arc, what is it that you need to ask?"

"Uh…where's the main hall?"

It took all of Glynda's willpower to not snap the clipboard she was holding in half. _Where's the main hall? You were in the bloody main hall just two hours ago! HOW COULD YOU NOT-_

"The main hall is the building with the statue in the front, I would assume?" Blake asked, looking from Jaune to her. Glynda's angry thoughts mellowed out as she nodded.

"Yes, that is the main hall. I suppose it isn't labelled as such, is it?" Glynda smiled and chuckled, not noticing how wide Yang's, Jaune's, Nora's, Ruby's, and Pyrrha's eyes went, "At any rate, I will be leading you to your dorms. Please follow me."

Glynda turned and began leading the way, though she used the metal bit on her clipboard to keep a watch over the group behind her. They were close to Blake, sure, but they weren't doing anything indecent to her.

 _Just making sure the rules are being followed, of course. After all, we can't have anything indecent happening to any of the students, not just Blake._

"Miss Xiao Long, unless you would like detention, I suggest raising your eyes." She couldn't help but smirk as Yang's face went bright red and her eyes immediately shot up. The rest of the group looked rather confused, but she got her point across.

 _No one is going to be ogling my students while I am on the watch. No one._

* * *

Yang could tell that the professor had it in for her. _Sheesh, teach, you'd think you were her girlfriend or something!_

She wasn't going to deny that she was checking out Blake. She was many things, but dishonest was not one of them, and she wasn't going to change that now. _Belladonna got a booty, and I am not ashamed to notice it._

She couldn't help but snicker softly. _Bellabooty! Shit, Yang, that's perfect!_

"What's so funny?" Blake looked over to her, curious, and Yang quickly stopped snickering and shook her head, smiling.

"N-Nothing, just remembered a joke that I heard a while back."

 _Okay, a little lie here or there is fine, right? Can't just tell people what I'm thinking all the time, that's boring!_

"Oh? Wanna share it? I do enjoy a good joke every once in a while." Blake smirked, and Yang knew that the little kitty cat was trying to put her on the spot.

 _Oh, she knows, and she wants to play a game._

"Sure! So, a neutron walks into a bar. He asks for a drink, and the bartender replies 'For you, no charge'."

Ruby snorted and began to laugh, and Blake started snickering as well. Weiss rolled her eyes and turned away, though Yang could see her shoulders shaking slightly.

 _Smooth one, Xiao Long! I knew this was the group to appreciate some science humour! And everyone just thinks I've just got brawn and beauty._

"Ah, chemistry jokes, ya know? All the good ones… _argon_!"

Blake began to laugh, and Ruby's laughter increased in volume. Weiss, too, began to chuckle, and Pyrrha's group joined in as well.

"Wow, calm down guys, I don't need you _caesium_ on me! Most people find my jokes to be rather _basic_ , but you guys are _reacting_ rather well!"

Yang couldn't help but grin as the entire group started laughing, and she caught a glimpse of Professor Goodwitch smiling, covering her mouth with her hand as she chuckled.

 _Boom. Ice Queen, Amazon, Kitty Cat, even the Wicked Witch! Yang Xiao Long, bringing smiles and good feelings wherever she goes!_

"Alright, alright, those were some pretty good ones." Blake took a few deep breaths and settled down, the rest of the group following. "I thought you were only good at terrible puns, Yang. You've pleasantly surprised me."

"Aww, thanks kit' cat!" She grinned and slung an arm around her shoulders, "I'm glad you could _Yang_ in there for me!"

"Ah, and there goes that pleasant surprise," Blake smirked at her, and Yang stuck her tongue out at her.

"Some people just don't understand. Seven days without puns makes one week."

Weiss audibly groaned, and Ruby looked away from her sister in embarrassment. Even Pyrrha looked a bit ashamed, and Blake couldn't help but cringing. Yang shrugged.

"Jeez, tough crowd tonight."

"Miss Xiao Long, please cease with your horrible puns." Professor Goodwitch looked back, frowning. Yang looked away and nodded, though when the professor turned around she stuck her tongue out at her.

"Miss Xiao Long, you are really asking for a detention, aren't you?"

"No m'am, sorry." Yang sighed, while Weiss, Pyrrha, and Ruby snickered. Yang glared at them and poked Ruby in the side, causing her to yelp and poke her back. Yang could hear Professor Goodwitch sigh as the two sisters delved into a poke fight behind her.

* * *

Weiss watched the two sisters for a few moments before sighing and shaking her head. _Ugh, those two need to grow up. They're going to the most prestigious academy in all of Vale, and they're acting like middle schoolers!_

She turned her attention over to Blake, pursing her lips and furrowing her brow. _And that Blake Belladonna! She's a rude pervert, but she can be kind as well. Still, absolutely uncouth! Undressing me with her eyes…I'm sure she'd like to undress me, perv._

However, the thought of Blake undressing her came to mind, and she had to look away from Blake before her face turned into an inferno. _Stupid, stupid, stupid girl! She's a nuisance, and she's not even saying anything! Who says that, anyway? Undressing you with my eyes, that's just so…lewd!_

She jumped as a hand fell on her shoulder, and she looked over to see Blake looking rather concerned. "Hey, are you alright Weiss? You look a bit…frustrated."

"I-I'm fine, thank you! Don't think I've forgiven you for what you said, either! Dolt!" Weiss nodded firmly and turned her attention forward. She heard Blake snicker after she did. She did not expect Blake to lean very close to her ear and _oh gods I can feel her breath on my ear quit it Miss Belladonna!_

"You mean the comment about undressing you with my eyes?" Blake's voice came out as a whisper, and Weiss had to do all she could to keep her legs from shaking, "Look, I'm sorry about that. You were acting rather…brusque, and I felt that you needed to be taken down a peg."

Weiss gulped and nodded, "A-Apology accepted…but that doesn't change what I feel about you being a pervert."

She could see Blake smiling out of the corner of her eye, and she released the breath she didn't know she was holding as Blake backed away. _Sweet gods above, she has absolutely no understanding of personal space either it seems! Leaning into my ear like that, so…so…_

Weiss couldn't think of anything to say, and she instead focused on the studying that she would begin doing when they arrived to their dorms.

* * *

 _Alright Ruby, take the chance, you can talk to her._

Her little spat with Yang had ended after a few moments, and Ruby was now trying to psyche herself up to talk to Blake. It wasn't much she wanted to say, really, just to apologise for running away twice and to ask what she liked to do in her freetime.

 _Just…pull her sleeve to get her attention…_

Ruby reached forward and gently tugged Blake's sleeve. Blake turned around and, seeing it was Ruby, smiled. "What's up, Ruby?"

 _Now, just talk! You're good at that, Ruby!_

"I…wanted to apologise for running away earlier," Ruby looked towards the ground, her embarrassment bubbling up again, "I-It wasn't your fault! I…I just get nervous when meeting new people…"

She heard Blake giggle, and she looked up to see that Blake had come to stand beside her instead, "It's fine, Ruby. I know what it's like to meet new people and not really know what to say," Blake put her hand on Ruby's shoulder, causing her to blush lightly, "I did want to ask though, what were you looking at?"

Ruby's eyes lit up. _She wants to talk about botany?!_ "Oh! I saw this really lovely patch of hemlock and belladonna! Yang doesn't let me grow any at home, because she says that my herbs take up enough room, so I was absolutely fascinated. They have this kind of beauty that lies in their properties, and…well, I just absolutely fell in love with them."

"Oh? You grow your own herbs?" Blake asked, and Ruby nodded in response, "I actually grow a bit of ginger and peppermint at my home, though my prize beauty is a pot of belladonna that I have been growing. Maybe I could show you sometime?"

 _Oh my god she's inviting me over! And she grows plants! Nice job, Ruby, we found some common ground!_

"I-I-I would absolutely love to!" Ruby practically leapt at Blake's suggestion, and before she could really think about it she hugged Blake. It took a few seconds for her to register what she did, but she wasn't able to break the hug before Blake returned it, chuckling softly. Ruby's face turned a deep red, and she broke off from Blake.

"S-Sorry, I just got really excited to hear that someone else appreciates plants…" Ruby's gaze turned towards the ground again, but Blake placed her hand on her shoulder, making her look back up to see that Blake was smiling.

"It's fine, Ruby. To be honest, I didn't expect someone as young as you to be interested in botany."

Ruby mumbled a soft "thank you" and returned to her side by Yang, who nudged her in the side and gave her a thumbs up.

"Nice job there, Rubes!"

"Shut up Yang…"

* * *

At the head of the hill stood a small group of students, watching the eight students led by Professor Goodwitch, consisting of a tall boy with silver hair, a tanned girl with green hair, a short girl with tri-colour hair, and a beauty with long, black hair.

"Cinder, who do you think they are?" The girl with green hair spoke up, keeping her eyes trained on the taller girl with black hair.

"I do not know in the slightest, Emerald, though they've caught Neo's attention…" the black haired girl looked over to the short girl, who was watching the group with an intensity that she hadn't seen before. _Interesting…_

"Neo, what's up? You aren't looking for a fight, are you?" Cinder smirked as Neo shook her head, keeping her gaze firmly planted on the group below. Cinder watched as well, wondering just who exactly caught her friend's attention. Roaming across the teacher and the students, her eyes landed on a girl with long, black hair and a black bow.

 _Oh? My lien's on her._

"Girl with the black bow and black hair?"

Cinder almost burst into laughter when Neo jumped, "Ah, she does seem interesting…"

Neo turned around and glared at her, making a slicing motion across her throat. "Oooh, afraid you might have some competition?"

Cinder watched as Neo began to sign quickly, _I will end you, Cinder._

Emerald stepped forward and smirked, "Aww, you two competing for the same girl? Too bad you'll have to watch her get taken away by yours truly."

Her confidence was stolen as both Cinder and Neo turned to glare at her, and she stepped back. The boy with silver hair sighed, "Come on, let's head back to our dorm before you three get us thrown out by starting a fight. First day too…"

Cinder huffed and nodded, "Fair enough. Come on, Popsicle, Emmy, let's head back."

Neo's eye twitched at the nickname, but she followed the rest of the group as they walked to the dorms. She looked back one more time, just in time to see the girl with black hair look back at her. Deciding to take the chance, she winked to her and blew a kiss before skipping to catch up with the others.

 _Cinder and Emerald won't stand a chance. No one else will…_

* * *

 _Who…is that girl?_

Blake felt her cheeks light up, having just watched the multi-coloured girl skip away. She had looked up to the top of the hill, feeling that they were being watched, and found that her instinct was on the money. What she didn't expect, however, was a girl to wink at her and blow a kiss her way.

"Miss Politan seems to want some disciplinary action as well…" Blake heard Glynda mutter under her breath, and she noticed that the older woman was glaring at the top of the hill. Blake had to keep herself from laughing.

 _Glynda is rather…strict, but I don't think she's strict for the right reasons._

"Oooh, seems our resident kitty cat is a lady killer~" Yang teased from behind her, and Blake turned around. Instead of scowling at her, she smirked.

"Why, Yang, are you afraid that your position will be compromised?"

Yang's eyes went wide, and both Ruby and Weiss looked between the two, "I, ah, what do you mean, kit' cat?"

"Oh, it just seems like you'd be the lady killer around the school, Yang. Thought you might feel a bit threatened." Blake snickered as Yang turned away from her, her words having hit their mark. Yang's face went bright red, and Blake took it as a victory in her book.

It wasn't much longer before the group reached their dorms, and they found that their rooms were right next to each other. Glynda walked over to the leftmost room and opened the door.

"Miss Rose, Schnee, Long, and Belladonna will all be situated in this room here," she then walked over to the rightmost room; "Mr. Ren and Arc, along with Miss Valkyrie and Nikos shall be taking this room. If you have any questions, please see me in my office."

Noticing that Jaune was about to raise his hand, she sighed, "It's marked on your Scroll, which is the device that you should have kept after removing your blindfolds." Jaune put his hand back to his side.

"On that note, I shall be leaving you to your devices. Remember, a banquet will be held in the main hall at 1900, along with the official announcement of your teams. Please arrive in your uniforms," Glynda looked over the eight of them before resting her eyes on Blake, "I look forward to seeing all of you there."

With that, Glynda left, parting a path through the throng of students who stood around in the hallway. Blake, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang looked towards their room. Ruby took the first step into the room, and the rest of them followed, with Blake stopping in the doorway and looking towards Pyrrha.

"Well, it looks like we'll be neighbours for the next four years." Blake smiled at Pyrrha, and Pyrrha smiled in return.

"I look forward to seeing a lot more of you, Blake."

Blake snickered, "Is that supposed to be an innuendo, Miss Nikos?"

She got the expected result as Pyrrha blushed, "I-I didn't, I mean, I look forward to seeing you more, not…more of…I mean, not, well…I-" Blake held up her hand, silencing Pyrrha's ramblings.

 _Poor girl, I think I'm going to have too much fun with her._

"It's fine Pyrrha, I know what you meant. I was just teasing you," she looked into her room and frowned, "I suppose I'll be seeing you at dinner, yeah?"

"Of course, Blake, I'll see you then." Pyrrha went into her room, and Blake entered hers. The reason for her frown, of course, was the fact that her three teammates had decided to take their beds and create bunk beds out of them. One pair was made by using books to create distance, while the other was held up with very dangerous looking ropes.

"Okay…so, who is sleeping in what?" Blake looked between her teammates, "For starters, I am not sleeping under that death trap." She pointed at the precariously swinging bed on the right.

"Oh! Don't worry, I'll take that one!" Ruby smiled and leapt onto the top bunk, and Blake nearly had a heart attack as it swung far to one side before settling in position, "See? It holds perfectly fine!"

Yang chuckled nervously and hopped onto the top bed of the book bunks, "I will, ah, take this one. Rubes…do be careful."

Weiss and Blake looked between each other, knowing that whoever took the bed under Yang would force the other to sleep under the potential murder machine that Ruby slept on.

Weiss took a deep breath and sat on the bed under Ruby, "I…suppose I will risk myself with this bed, Blake."

"Weiss-"

Weiss held up her hand, and Blake raised her hand in a salute, "Your sacrifice will be remembered by all, Miss Schnee. Your family would be proud."

"Don't talk about me like I'm dead!"

Blake giggled and took a seat on her bed, patting the pillow and lying back. She shut her eyes and smiled.

 _Well, this school seems like it's going to be interesting._

* * *

 **AN: Well, this is the first thing that I have ever uploaded onto FanFiction, and the first RWBY fic that I've done! I hope you lot enjoy it! Questions, comments, concerns? Feel free to ask!**

 **At any rate, updates will be rather sporadic as I have both a job and my university classes. However, I think I will be giving this fic a lot of love, so don't fret.**

 **Anyway, this is General Katyusha, signing off!**


	2. Chapter II: Banquets

"Blake."

 _Three spoons of honey and two drops of bergamot oil should do the trick with this blend…_

"Blake!"

 _Wait, mom, the blend's not done yet, I still need to add the cinnamon!_

"BLAKE!"

Blake's eyes shot open, and she found that, in place of her mother, Ruby was holding onto her shoulders, shaking her slightly. Ruby was giggling softly, though Blake had no idea why. Upon noticing a slight dampness on her pillow, she wiped her mouth and found that the cause of Ruby's giggling was due to her drooling.

 _How embarrassing._

"S-Sorry about that," Blake wiped her eyes and looked around the room, noticing a distinct lack of teammates. "Uh…where's Weiss and Yang?"

"Oh! They went down to the banquet already, after a lot of convincing. I never saw Yang act so stubborn, and that's saying something! Weiss seemed ready to fight to the death too…" Ruby chuckled and shook her head.

"Wait, fight over what, exactly?" Blake had to rub her temples, completely lost on the situation.

"Well…"

* * *

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang all looked over to Blake, who had fallen asleep a short while ago. The three of them had taken the time to shower and get ready for the banquet. Yang and Weiss avoided talking to one another as much as possible, though Ruby tried her best to settle any issues between them all. She got a little bit of leeway, but not as much as she was hoping.

"Looks like Kitty Cat is taking a cat nap." Yang snickered before getting a face-full of pillow from Ruby, who glowered at her.

"Stop it, Yang. She's probably tired from getting pulled around all day by us…" She sighed and took a seat on the bed that Weiss claimed.

Weiss sat down next to her, "I have to agree with Ruby on this one, Yang. Our antics were probably rather exhausting to a girl like Blake." Ruby nodded in agreement, and Yang sighed.

"Alright, you guys are probably right. I do have a habit of tiring out the ladies." Yang smirked while both Ruby and Weiss cringed and shook their heads, not finding the energy to tell her off.

Ruby looked down at the little Scroll that she got, and found that the time was 1630, leaving them just half an hour to get ready. She quickly forced the Scroll into her pocket and stood up, pointing to both Weiss and Yang.

"You two go ahead to the banquet, I'll stay back to make sure Blake doesn't walk alone."

Weiss also stood and shook her head, "No, Ruby, I think I'll lead Blake to the banquet. It would be rude to not provide escort for her."

Yang tossed an arm around Ruby's shoulders, "Nah, Rubes, you know that I'd do well in leading her there! Go on ahead with Ice Queen there, I've got it."

Before Weiss could rebuke Yang, Ruby shook her head and gently removed Yang's arm from her shoulders, "No, Yang, because you'll try to hit on her the whole way here. Weiss…it would look bad for a lady of your standings to be late to a banquet, would it not?"

Weiss and Yang both looked shocked at Ruby's argument, though Yang was the first to answer, "Hey! I mean, can you blame me? She's pretty hot."

"You truly are an insufferable brute! No wonder your own sister doesn't trust Blake with you!" Weiss scowled at Yang, who stuck her tongue back at her, "And you!" Weiss pointed at Ruby, still scowling, "What do you mean by that? Are you saying that I'm too high class to stay back with a friend?"

Ruby was taken aback by Weiss's statement, "You consider her a friend? I thought you just found her to be a pervert…"

Yang chuckled, "I think Weiss just wants to get perved on some more. She probably likes it."

Weiss looked rather flustered, and she threw her hands up before storming out of the room, muttering about how her teammates were "rude, insufferable, twits." Ruby and Yang shared a small giggle before Ruby turned back to Yang, motioning to the door.

"You should probably head off with her, before she starts spreading bad rumours. You two need to start getting along anyway."

Yang opened her mouth to argue more, but upon seeing the surprisingly serious look in her eyes, she sighed and nodded. "I…alright Ruby, I'll go." In classic fashion, however, she added "Just remember to use protection, 'kay?"

Ruby's face turned beet red, "Yaaaaang! Just go, you jerk!" Yang burst into laughter, and Ruby could still hear her sister well down the hall, long after she left. Still, left alone now, she took a seat on the edge of Blake's bed, smiling as she watched the girl sleep.

 _She looks so…peaceful. It's cute._

She furrowed her brow at that though. _Cute? When have I ever thought anyone was cute?_

Before she could continue with her thoughts, she heard a knock at the door. Puzzled, she went over and opened the door, finding that it was Pyrrha who was knocking at her chamber doors.

"Oh! Hello again, Ruby!" Pyrrha smiled sweetly, and Ruby smiled back, though she still didn't know why Pyrrha would come over so early.

"Hey Pyrrha, what's up?"

"I was just wondering if Blake would like to walk together to the banquet." Ruby's smile became a tad bit more forced, and she shook her head.

"Sorry, but she's sleeping right now. Yang and Weiss already left, though, so you could still catch up to them." _If you even suggest waiting around I will-_

"Oh, that's quite alright, I can wait to ask her then." Pyrrha was still smiling, but Ruby swore that she was mocking her, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

Still, Ruby held her ground, "I think it would be rather rude to be late to the banquet, and I have no idea when Blake will wake up. What about your team, Pyrrha?"

Seeing the rather surprised and slightly guilty look in Pyrrha's face, Ruby knew that she had scored another victory against another potential hindrance… _hindrance to what though?_

"Well, I suppose you're right Ruby. I'll, ah, see you guys down at the banquet." Pyrrha smiled and bowed before returning to her dorm. Ruby felt a tad bit guilty, but she figured that Blake would feel out of place with a crap ton of people just standing over her when she woke up.

 _Yeah, that's it! She's still new here, so it'd be really weird to wake up with a bunch of people looking over you._

Ruby went back to her spot on Blake's bed, waiting patiently for her to wake up. Strangely, she almost didn't want Blake to wake up for the ceremony, feeling rather content to just watch her sleep. A small smile crept onto her face.

 _She looks so pretty…_

* * *

"And there you have it!" Ruby finished the recollection of her entire tale (minus a few delicate details here and there), leaving Blake with a solid foundation on why her team had left.

"Well, thank you for staying back Ruby, but I would have done fine walking up myself." Regardless, she found herself smiling at Ruby. Though she wouldn't say it, she actually did appreciate the girl staying back with her. She was used to being left behind in group activities, so seeing someone break that chain was very welcome.

 _Plus, she absolutely adorable, though I have a feeling that there's something she isn't telling me, the way her eyes shifted around whenever she paused in her explanation._

Before she could say anything else, however, the two girls heard a knock on the door. Ruby moved to the door and opened it up, revealing one Professor Glynda Goodwitch. The professor looked around the room, puzzled.

"Where is the rest of your team?" She directed this question to Ruby, who stepped back and held her gaze on the ground. Blake could tell that Ruby felt intimidated by Glynda, so she decided to come to the rescue.

"Ruby told them to head to the banquet before us. I decided to take a nap, and Ruby stayed back to walk to the banquet with me."

Glynda looked between the two of them before nodding. "I see…do you know the state of Miss Nikos's team?"

Blake stood up from the bed and, after a quick stretch, nodded. "Yeah, they went to the banquet as well. Pyrrha wanted to accompany us, but Ruby convinced her to go with her team."

Ruby looked back to Blake with a look of terror in her eyes, and Blake wasn't sure what the reason was until she looked to Glynda, who was looking at Ruby with a rather stern look of displeasure.

"Hm…very well then," Glynda sighed, and Blake could tell that whatever plan Glynda had was now falling apart bit by bit, "I was hoping to lead your teams to the banquet, but it seems as though the majority of you have already left."

 _Ah, I see, she probably feels like she'll look incompetent in front of Ozpin and her other colleagues…_

* * *

*One Hour Earlier*

"I want you to lead Miss Rose's team and Miss Nikos's team to the banquet."

Glynda looked at Ozpin as if he had grown three heads. "What? Why? They can get to the banquet themselves, and we've never had a team be escorted by a professor any other year, what's with the changeup?"

Ozpin took a sip of his coffee before setting the mug on his desk. "Simply put, I have high expectations for those teams. You led them to their dorms, so I just figured that you would like to lead them to the banquet as well," he watched as Glynda's face turned slightly red, "Did I happen to be wrong on that assumption, Glynda?"

Glynda scowled at him, "Fine, I'll take them to the banquet, but don't expect me to babysit the students on your command, Ozpin." With that, she turned and left the room, leaving behind a stunned Peter Port, a worried Bartholemew Oobleck, and a satisfied Ozpin.

"Ozpin," Port turned towards the headmaster, "What exactly are you planning?"

Oobleck also turned towards Ozpin, "I do share my colleagues questions. You don't usually operate this way, so why are you doing it now?"

Headmaster Ozpin smiled, "Gentlemen…if you are willing to keep it on the down low, I would be more than happy to share my plans." Upon the two professors nodding in confirmation, Ozpin continued, "I believe that our dear Glynda holds a more than professional interest in one of our students."

Port's brow furrowed, "You mean she has a romantic attraction to a student? Preposterous! She follows educational code and ethics even more strictly than I do!" Professor Oobleck nodded in agreement, sipping from his thermos.

Ozpin merely shook his head, holding up his hand, "Now, I never said 'romantic attraction,' I merely said 'more than professional,' closer to a friend," grinning, he added, "Of course, if it is a romantic attraction, this makes our job a lot more interesting."

"What do you mean by 'our job,' Ozpin?" Oobleck looked at the headmaster curiously, and Port shared his comrade's feelings on the topic.

"Well, of course, I expect the two of you want the best for our dearest Glynda, yes?" The two professors hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Then I expect that the two of you will work alongside me to make this all happen?"

Both Oobleck and Port shared a look of concern, before sighing and nodding. "I…suppose we will, but what exactly are we doing, Ozpin? Your plans always do worry me." Professor Port said this, looking rather perplexed.

Ozpin took another sip of his coffee, "Well, quite simply, we are trying to make Glynda notice what she is feeling, and act accordingly. However it works out, I expect both of you to stand with me…and fall accordingly, if it should fail."

The two professors were going to protest, but one look from Ozpin quieted their concerns, and they simply nodded meekly. Ozpin smiled happily at this, and he walked over to his colleagues, putting his hands on their shoulders.

"I'm glad we have come to an agreement. Operation 'Wings of Glory' is in effect, gentlemen." Ozpin was smiling, and though Port and Oobleck put on their own nervous smiles, the thought they shared was the same.

 _We're all dead if she finds out about this._

* * *

"Well, if you would like, I'm sure you could still lead Ruby and me to the banquet," Blake smiled at Glynda, and was pleased to see Glynda smile back.

"That sounds like an excellent idea, Miss Belladonna. If you and Miss Rose would please follow me, I will lead you to the hall."

Blake noticed that Ruby wasn't moving, and she came up behind the girl, giving her a gentle push towards Glynda. The caped girl looked back at Blake, concern evident in her face and her attempts at getting out of her grasp, "B-Blake, what are you doing?"

Blake could only smirk as she continued to push Ruby along, "You can either start walking yourself, or I'll keep pushing you along, but I am not going to let you act shy all night."

"Alright, alright, I'll walk!" Blake stopped pushing Ruby along and allowed the girl to walk on her own terms, and the two maintained their position next to Glynda. Ruby still looked rather embarrassed, making Blake feel a tad bit guilty, but she knew that it was for the best. She gave Ruby's shoulder a friendly squeeze and a smile, which seemed to put the girl at ease.

 _It was this, or she would probably try and stay in the room by herself, and I don't want her to walk by herself to the banquet. That just seems…too lonely, even for me._

"So, Miss Belladonna," Glynda looked back towards Blake, "How are you enjoying the school? Everything to your liking?"

"Yeah, the school seems nice and the students are a lot better than my last school. The faculty is a lot more competent too." Glynda nodded at Blake's answer and turned back, and Blake saw that Glynda was smiling. _She needs to smile more, it's cute._

For the most part, Blake kept close to Ruby while walking, and she noticed that the girl eased up more and more. She worked on getting Ruby and Glynda to converse, and was pleased when the two of them were able to find common ground in talking about teas and coffees (which Blake could never want Ruby drinking). She joined in as well, and the three of them had a rather amicable conversation on their way to the banquet. Blake couldn't help but feel as though she had achieved some sort of victory.

 _Now I just need to get Weiss and Yang to ease up on each other…_

* * *

Cinder, Neo, and Emerald were all standing outside of their dorm, waiting for Mercury to get finished getting ready. They had spent most of their time after the maze lounging around the room, thinking about how they were going to steal that raven haired girl from the other.

Neo had a plan to get close to her and use her unique qualities to try and get close to the girl. She figured that the girl (who the three of them just called "That Girl" or "The Raven Haired Beauty") seemed like the kind of enjoy dark chocolate truffle, and she knew that she'd be able to work some strings with her father's company in order to get a supply of ice cream to work with.

 _Of course, if she doesn't like that, then I'll just have to keep playing ice cream roulette until I find her flavour._ Neo licked her lips slightly, _I wouldn't mind finding out her flavour~_

Of course, if the ice cream failed, then she was sure that origami would work.

Cinder planned on using her beauty and charm to get close to the girl. Her mother had taught her at a young age how to use charm and cunning to get what you wanted, and she figured that it would work here as well. It was an absolutely fail-proof plan, and she knew that her mother would be proud.

 _No one could resist mother's charms, and I know for certain that no one could resist mine._ Cinder couldn't help but smirk; _I'll have that raven haired beauty for myself before the end of the first quarter._

Emerald knew for a fact that both Neo and Cinder had their own plans and methods to getting the girl, and she knew that she couldn't compete with Cinder's wit or Neo's…uniqueness. So, her plan was very straightforward: Get her name, dance with her, work from there.

 _Straightforward is the best path. She doesn't seem like the type to deal with secrecy or cunning ways._ Emerald held her head proudly; _it'll be a treat, watching these two look on in dismay as I swoop in and take this girl off of her feet through hard work and honesty._

Mercury, on the other hand, found the rather devious looks on his teammates to be rather…unnerving. He had thought about trying for the girl himself, but realising that he was going to be partnered with three other women (one of which he was sure was a psychopath) who were pining after the same girl, he decided to cut his losses.

Taking a look down the hallway, he saw the black-haired girl from earlier walking with the professor and…that other girl. He cleared his throat loudly, catching the attention of his teammates.

"We should probably head to the banquet now." _Before you three try and jump this girl in the hallway…_

The girls looked back at Mercury, and he nearly let out a sigh of relief as they nodded in agreement.

"Yes, yes, let's all head off." Cinder took the lead, and the rest of the team followed, with Mercury taking the rear. He did his best to make sure none of the girls would look back, almost feeling bad for the black-haired beauty walking not too far behind them.

 _I almost feel sorry for that girl. There's a war brewing, and she's the objective._

* * *

The main hall was absolutely packed. Apparently, the banquet was not limited to just the first-year students, and the entirety of the school seemed to have joined in for the festivity. There was plenty of food and drink, and it seemed as though everyone was having a good time, hanging out with their teammates.

All except for Weiss, who was currently watching Yang joke around with some people that she apparently came to the school with, friends from her last school. She grimaced and took a sip of her punch, feeling a tad bit annoyed.

 _Why was Ruby so adamant about staying back with Blake? At least if she came I might have had another person to talk with…_

"Hey there snow angel~"

 _I take it back, I'd rather sit here and sip my drink alone._

Weiss had to fight the urge to turn around and simply throw a solid right hook at the perpetrator. The voice was instantly recognisable, and Weiss knew for certain that she didn't want to actually deal with the boy and his antics. However, proper decorum took over, and she turned around to face Jaune.

 _Of course, proper decorum doesn't say that I have to look pleased to be talking to certain people._

"Hello Jaune. To what do I owe the…pleasure." Weiss sighed inwardly as she finished her statement, glancing over the blonde's shoulders to see if there was anyone she could use for an excuse to get away.

 _It's too bad Blake isn't bothering me…_ Weiss furrowed her brow, _Wait, no, that thought was weird._

Jaune looked about, "Well, I saw you standing over here, and I realised that I couldn't leave such a beautiful statue without anyone to see her beauty."

Weiss had to fight the smirk that threatened to spill over her features. _Well, I might not be able to use an excuse to get away, but I could scare him off._

"A statue?" Weiss feigned a look of offence, something that she had perfected over the years, "Are you trying to imply something about my weight?"

Jaune's eyes went wide and he quickly shook his head, holding up his hands, "N-No! No, I meant that-"

"Wait, no, you're saying that I'm emotionless!" Weiss glared at the boy, thrusting her half-empty cup in his direction, "How extraordinarily rude of you! I can't believe it!"

"No no no, I…ah, a painting! Yeah, you're like a painting, i-in that you're beautiful and high class!" Jaune nodded quickly, sweat dripping from his brow. Weiss could tell from his slight shaking that his knees were weak, and she had no doubt that his arms felt heavy.

Weiss gasped in mock-horror, "You…you're saying that I'm flat?" She put on her best hurt expression ( _Thank you acting lessons_ ), and she looked down and away from Jaune, "I know that I'm not blessed like Yang or Pyrrha, but to insult me so directly is just so…so…"

Jaune stood in shocked silence, mouth agape. Weiss felt a surge of pride and victory as she felt the defeat radiate from the boy in front of her, satisfied that she would now be rid of him from there on out.

It seemed as though fate would have other plans in mind, as the boy shook his head and went back to smiling, "I, ah, seem to not be able to say anything right, huh? Is there anything I can do to make up for it, snow angel?"

Weiss's look of hurt instantly turned into one of annoyance. _How…HOW can anyone be THIS DENSE!_

Weiss quickly drained the rest of her punch and handed her empty cup to the boy. "Take this, toss it, and get me a bottle of water from the vending machine in the dorms." She watched as Jaune immediately jumped to the task, taking the cup and weaving his way into the crowd.

The moment that he was out of sight, she made her move to the punch bowl on the far end of the hall, dedicating herself to losing the boy through the crowd. As she slipped through the throng of people, she felt an unexplainable twinge of frustration towards Blake for not being present.

 _It's like I have some sort of schoolgirl crush…on…her…_

As Weiss's thoughts trailed off, she felt another surge of frustration towards Blake, blaming her for the fact that her heart was racing.

* * *

 _I wonder why Ruby sent me off like that…_

Pyrrha was idly hanging around the punch bowl, her teammates having all left to mingle. Nora had decided to rush to the sweets table, dragging Ren along with her, and Jaune had left after saying something about "finding that Snow Angel."

 _I hope no one feels intimidated by me…_ It was a problem that she dealt with quite a bit, especially at her old school. She was much taller than most students, which got her nicknames like "Amazon" and "High-rra." She tolerated them, but deep down she felt the sting.

 _It was always worth seeing their faces in gym though._

She sighed and sipped her drink, looking across the crowd. Apparently many people came here with friends from their old school, that or they all made friends very quickly. Everyone seemed as though they were having fun, and she even saw Yang laughing and joking with a small group.

 _Lucky her I guess._

"You look like you're enjoying the party."

Pyrrha snapped out of her observance and found that Weiss had appeared next to her. She still didn't know how to feel about the girl, really. Though she was generally amicable and ready to make friends with anyone, Pyrrha also found that Weiss was rather confrontational, and that didn't bode well with her.

 _Still, she did come and talk to me, and she hasn't actually insulted me either, so maybe I can change that._

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Pyrrha chuckled, "What brings you to the 'Punch Bowl of Loners'?"

Weiss groaned, "I'm trying to hide from that blonde idiot."

"Yang?" Pyrrha had a confused look on her face, setting down her drink. _I thought she and Yang were getting along…not 'well,' but they are teammates._

Weiss shook her head. "No, the _other_ blonde idiot, from your team."

"Ooh, right, sorry about that." Pyrrha placed a sympathetic hand on Weiss's shoulder, who merely sighed and nodded.

"Gods, why is he such a…a…" Weiss waved her hand about, failing to find a word proper enough to fit her definition.

"A loser? Nuisance? Wet blanket? Weakling?" Pyrrha giggled as Weiss nodded to each of her suggestions, "He's not _horrible_ Weiss, he's just…obsessed with you, and sure, he _is_ a weakling, but he…ah…he's confident?"

Weiss groaned, "And that's the worst part! Why do guys like him have to try and exude this thick miasma of confidence like they're just top-dog in the world?" Weiss furrowed her brow, grabbed Pyrrha's drink, and drained the rest of it before Pyrrha could stop her, "No, you're nothing! My family could buy your family's land, bulldoze your house, and get a standing ovation from the city mayor!"

Pyrrha felt as though her surprise could not go higher. _She's really, really angry about this. It's honestly kind of refreshing. Scary, but refreshing._

Pyrrha nodded sympathetically and brought the girl into a hug, patting her back gently. She heard Weiss sigh before returning the gesture, and Pyrrha could almost feel the anger draining from the shorter girl.

"She's like that too though…"

Pyrrha glanced down at Weiss, curious as to where this whispered statement came from. _She? Is she talking about Yang?_

"Who, Yang?" The girl did ooze that kind of charisma and charm, from what Pyrrha could tell.

Weiss gave a bitter laugh and shook her head, "Well, yes, she does indeed ooze confidence and acts like she's top dog, but she is actually tolerable in her bragging ways. Just…don't tell her I said that, or I'll never hear enough from that oaf."

Pyrrha smiled and nodded, giving Weiss a look as to urge her on.

"I meant-"

"Hey Weiss! Hey Pyrrha!"

Pyrrha and Weiss looked over to find that Ruby, Blake, and Yang had all found their way to the punch bowl as well. Ruby was smiling happily, while Yang had a rather mischievous smirk on her face. Blake merely raised an eyebrow, and it was then that Pyrrha realised that she never stopped hugging Weiss. The two quickly let go of each other, embarrassment rather evident in their face.

"H-Hello again…" Pyrrha looked away from the three of them, wishing that she could just melt into the floor.

"Hello Pyrrha," Blake said, "Professor Goodwitch wants us to round up our teams. Apparently it's time to officially announce who is with whom."

Pyrrha groaned internally. _Where am I supposed to find Ren and Nora?! And who knows where Weiss sent Jaune!_

Pyrrha quickly thanked them for telling her and set off, searching for the other members of her team. It didn't take long to find Nora, who was threatening an upperclassman with a fork for apparently taking the last pistachio crème puff.

"He stole it-" Nora began, pressing the fork against the boy's throat, who was shaking slightly, his eyes wide with terror.

"He got there first." Ren was gently trying to pull Nora off of the boy.

"It was the last one!" Pyrrha watched Nora deliver a swift kick into the boy's shin as Ren pulled her away.

"There was an entire tray sitting next to it." Ren held Nora back, and the boy quickly scampered away, limping into the crowd. Nora calmed down shortly afterwards before turning to Pyrrha, smiling.

"So, what's up Py?"

 _Py? And what's with that change in attitude!_ Pyrrha ceased her thoughts before they could continue, "Professor Goodwitch said that we need to gather our teammates. You wouldn't happen to know where Jaune went, would you?"

Ren raised his hand, "He was getting accosted by the men's restroom by a taller boy with brown hair."

Pyrrha's face went beet red, "O-Oh, I didn't think that Jaune would swing that way with how he was talking to Weiss, but if he's busy…"

"No, I mean he was getting pushed around. Bullied, as it were."

 _Bullies, even at a school like this? That's unacceptable._

Pyrrha furrowed her brow, and she grabbed Ren and Nora's wrists, dragging them off to the men's restroom. Without hesitation, she kicked in the door, finding indeed that their fourth team member was being held against a wall as four boys crowded around, laughing at him. The assailants turned around to see who came in, and the one who looked to be their leader stepped forward.

"Well, hello there sweetheart," he said, puffing out his chest, "This isn't the lady's room, but I think me and my friends could…accommodate you." This was met with snickering and muffled cheers from the other three, all while Jaune groaned on the ground, doubled over.

Not one for theatrics, Pyrrha let go of both Ren and Nora, walked over to the little shit, and punched him square in the nose. She felt extremely satisfied as his nose broke under her fist, and the kid crumpled to the ground like a paper bag. The other three, after watching their leader go down, decided to bail, muttering apologies as they did. Nora cheered rather loudly as they left.

"Yeah! Are we going to break his legs now?" Nora grinned and began to walk forward before Ren put a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head.

Pyrrha reached down to Jaune and helped him up, patting him on the shoulder and giving him a good look over. He had a scratch here and there, but otherwise he looked okay to her.

 _His pride is probably hurt more than anything._

"Are you alright Jaune?"

"Y-Yeah, thanks Pyrrha…" Jaune rubbed the back of his head, his face filled with obvious embarrassment. Pyrrha smiled, lightly punching Jaune in the shoulder.

"Wow Pyrrha, he's out cold!" Nora giggled as she poked at the body on the ground, "I can't wait to see you and Yang duke it out over Blake!"

Before Pyrrha could ask what Nora meant by that, she grabbed Ren's wrist and dragged him out the doorway, laughing all the way. Jaune gave her a confused look before heading out after the other two, leaving Pyrrha alone with her musings.

 _W-Why would Yang and I fight over Blake? Does Yang like Blake?_

 _Do…I like Blake?_

* * *

While Pyrrha was off being the academy's vigilante, Yang was having the time of her life antagonising Weiss for the rather compromising situation that they had found her in.

"Wow, I never figured that Pyrrha would be the one to melt the Ice Queen!" Yang couldn't help but snicker as Weiss fumed. Ruby and Blake both stepped back from the two, worried about their own safeties if the jesting turned violent.

"Aww, come on Weiss, cat got your tongue?" Yang gently nudged her in the side, "Am I going to have to call Pyrrha 'Kitty Cat' now? I guess I'm going to have to change your nickname, Blakey!"

She turned to Blake, who rolled her eyes at her antics. Yang blew a raspberry at Blake before turning back to her latest victim.

"So, if you two had kids, would they be average height?" Yang could hear Ruby cough and saw Blake's eyes go wide. Before she could enjoy her little victory, she was yanked by her collar, and came eye to eye with a rather furious Schnee.

"Listen here, Yang," Weiss's words were calm, but Yang could feel the cold rage behind them, "There is nothing going on between Pyrrha and me. I don't know what you _think_ you saw, but so help me if this becomes a rumour, I will absolutely **ruin you.** "

Yang swallowed and nodded, understanding fully that Weiss was not in a very joking mood at the moment, and Weiss smiled. "Excellent. Now, if we could just get closer to the stage without poking fun at one another, that would be wonderful."

Weiss then let go of Yang, who quickly stood straight and fixed her collar. _Alright, she's sensitive about her height, and her family is money, so her threat stands, but…one quick jab shouldn't hurt._

"Right, sorry Weiss, I didn't mean to insinuate that you and Pyrrha had a thing going on." Yang put on her best apologetic face, which worked as Weiss simply nodded, a sort of haughty smile on her face.

 _Now it's time for the finale._

Yang's apologetic frown turned into a small grin, and she leaned into Weiss's ear, "Besides, we both know that you have it for Blake."

She braced herself for a physical assault, or a vicious verbal lashing, but she was surprised when, instead, Weiss's face lit up bright red and she shook her head violently.

"Y-Yang! How dare you!" Weiss stomped her foot before rushing into the crowd, becoming lost rather quickly. Yang, Blake, and Ruby all watched with rather stunned expressions before Blake simply sighed and headed after her. Ruby walked over to Yang and patted her on the shoulder.

"Jeez Yang, what did you say this time?" Ruby merely watched Blake disappear into the crowd behind Weiss.

Yang's smirk turned into a determined grin, and she patted Ruby on her shoulder.

"It looks like a new challenger as appeared."

* * *

Glynda was giving Ozpin the most deadpan look she could muster, which is too say, an extremely deadpan look..

"Let me get this straight," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose, "You, Bartholemew, and Peter all agreed that I shall be the advising teacher for Team RWBY and Team JNPR…without getting my input at all?"

Ozpin simply nodded, sipping his coffee. His nonchalant admittance of his acts made Glynda want to rip that cane out of his hands and beat his head in with it, then beat him with his mug. Peter and Bartholemew must have noticed the flare of anger, because they took a step back from Glynda. Ozpin was, as always, unconcerned.

"You seem to be getting along with both Team RWBY and JNPR, so we figured that you would enjoy accompanying them as their team advisor." Ozpin's statement was extremely straightforward, and Glynda was irritated that there wasn't much she could say. The teachers did vote on who would be watching over which teams, and as it so happened the three teachers in front of her were able to get a majority vote.

"So I am to be sent away at the whim of the majority?" Glynda couldn't help but glare at the three men, and her knuckles were white with how hard she was clenching her fists. Ozpin's rather aloof attitude and smile were beginning to make her rage boil over.

 _I swear if he wasn't my boss I would have beat that smile off of his damned face…_

"Glynda," Ozpin set down his cup and put a hand on her shoulder, "Do you truly not wish to oversee these two teams?"

Glynda ran the entire scenario through her head, and she couldn't find a reason why she wouldn't. Both teams were made up of capable students ( _except, perhaps, for Mr. Arc_ ), and she was already a rather familiar face for both groups, so the transition period would be practically negligible.

It didn't hurt that Blake was in the group as well. Try as she might, she simply couldn't keep from thinking about the girl. She was mysterious, polite, and she had Glynda's attention like no other.

 _It's as if she has some sort of…magnetism. It has to be the simple fact that her family runs my favourite café chain._

Ozpin took her silence as a concession, and he chuckled, "Excellent! I'm sure you all will get along wonderfully. Now, we should get around to announcing the teams, shouldn't we?"

Glynda huffed and left for the stage, leaving Ozpin and the rest behind. She knew that it was going to be her job to begin the introduction, then Ozpin would come out and actually announce the teams. They had been doing this ceremony for as long as she could remember, and this was the order that they always had.

 _Why did Ozpin decide to introduce this teacher overseer thing this year?_

That was one addition that Glynda still couldn't wrap her head around. The day before the new school year began, Ozpin mentioned the introduction of this new programme, where a teacher would be assigned to one or two teams and would act as a sort of overseer for them, assisting them personally and making sure they were kept in line. He said it had something to do with "enforcing the team mechanic to teachers as well," but Glynda felt as if it was a cop-out answer. Still, she didn't say anything against the idea, and it was readily accepted by the rest of the staff as well.

Glynda brushed the thoughts aside as she stepped onto the stage, putting on her aura of professionalism as she came up to the mic. A quick glance over the crowd let her know that all teams were present, and in doing so she met Blake's eyes. She felt her face flush slightly, and she couldn't help but smile at the girl. She didn't even notice the several surprised whispers that began to spread through the crowd of students, but they ended as she swiftly regained her composure.

 _Every single time! The students are going to start rumours if this keeps up…more than they are already._

"Congratulations on passing your initiation into Beacon Academy," Glynda began, bringing up her scroll and turning on the screen behind her, "As you all know, the person that you are partnered with will be with you for your entire time at this academy, and possibly even after you graduate. However, you are not limited to just your partner, and indeed you will have two other team members who will also accompany you through your time here."

Glynda had given the same speech for years, and usually she would just stare above the crowd, not paying much attention to the students below, but this was the first year that she actually looked at the students…or at least, Team RWBY and JNPR.

 _Why does Mr. Arc look like he's been punched repeatedly?_ She turned her gaze towards the side of the room as a student entered, who she recognised as the leader for Team CRDL. Judging by the way he held his nose, and the faint amounts of dried blood on his uniform, she swiftly concluded that both sets of injuries were related. _Fights on the first day? Wonderful._

Putting that information away for later, Glynda finished her speech, "With that, Headmaster Ozpin will announce the composition of the teams." With that, she stepped aside and allowed Ozpin to step up.

"As Professor Goodwitch said…"

Glynda knew exactly what the rest of his speech would be. He would say the same things, more or less, add a bit of the history of the school in, and then begin introducing the teams in whatever order he deemed fit, much to her irritation. _Seriously, is alphabetical order that difficult?_

She ignored his speech for the most part, knowing that it wouldn't have changed since the first time he said it, and from the looks on the few upperclassmen, she knew that they figured this out as well. She saw Professor Port and Professor Oobleck standing at the back of the stage, quietly chatting about something. She didn't know exactly what they were talking about, but from the way that they glanced at Ozpin and occasionally her, she knew that it was going to become her business very soon.

 _I swear, if this is another one of Ozpin's plans…_

She found that Ozpin took some kind of fascination in getting involved in her life, trying to push her towards some activity or goal. In some frustrating fashion, she found that his plans were usually good in the long run, at least for her. She still remembered when he tricked her into trying the coffee at a Jackie's in Mystral.

 _Speaking of Jackie's…_

Glynda looked over to Team RWBY, figuring from their still quiet listening that they had not been called yet. Miss Xiao Long looked rather bored with the entire affair, something that Glynda could actually agree with her on, while both Miss Schnee and Miss Rose looked interested, the latter in a more animated fashion. Looking over to Blake, she was surprised to find that Blake was looking back at her.

 _S-She keeps looking over at me._ Glynda smiled nervously at Blake, resisting the urge to walk towards the back. _I don't feel uncomfortable in the usual manner though…why do I feel happy?_

As if reading Glynda's thoughts and fears, Blake gave her a wink and thumbs up before turning her attention back to Ozpin. Glynda felt her face turn a dark red, and she looked towards the ground, wanting to simply melt into the ground and disappear from the world.

Glynda's worst fears had come alive.

She had fallen in love with a student.

* * *

"Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai, Cinder Fall, and Neo Politan will form Team Mink!"

The room applauded as the faces of Mercury, Emerald, Cinder, and Neo flashed onto the screen, along with the initials MENC. The three girls all nodded contently, but Mercury couldn't help but sigh.

"Come on, I was banking on us getting Cayman. That would have been cooler."

Cinder looked at Mercury with amusement, "Pray tell, Mercury, how you would position those letters." She watched as Mercury took on a look of intense concentration, silently sounding the letters out to himself.

"C. E. M. N." Mercury said, looking a bit confused.

"And what would that sound like?" Emerald and Neo were both snickering, and Cinder could only watch as Mercury opened his mouth, frowned, closed his mouth, and nodded.

"Yeah, I…I see your point." Mercury sighed, "Still, Cayman would have been cooler."

"Aww, cheer up Mercury," Cinder patted him on the shoulder, "Your name gets to be first on the team."

Mercury grinned, "That makes me the leader then, right?"

Neo put a hand over her mouth and shook slightly, her silent laughter visible. After a few seconds, she settled down and rapidly signed, _You couldn't even lead a horse to water!_ She doubled over again, laughing even harder now, but the other three looked a tad bit confused at her joke.

"Right…" Emerald was the first to break the silence that followed, "At any rate, what does our schedule look like for tomorrow? We didn't actually get to choose our classes coming into the school."

Cinder took out her scroll and began to look through the schedule, "It looks like we have Introduction into Biology with Professor Oobleck first, then Remnant History with Professor Port, followed by…" Cinder stopped, rereading the next class several times, "Uh…Basic CQC with Professor Goodwitch-"

"Wait," Emerald held up her hand, concern on her face, "Basic CQC? As in Close Quarters Combat? With the blonde Amazon on stage who…" She looked down at Neo, who was shaking her head rapidly.

 _She's staring right at you Emerald,_ Neo signed quickly, and Emerald shut her mouth, simply nodding instead. A bead of sweat dripped from her brow, and Cinder would have chuckled if Neo hadn't been telling the truth. As it stood, Professor Goodwitch was indeed staring at their group, and she felt highly uncomfortable under the woman's gaze.

Neo couldn't help but feel awe. _The way she just exudes authority…I have a feeling her students never forget the basics of CQC._

"A-Anyway, after Basic CQC, we'll have Valesian Literature with Professor Peach, followed by lunch, Advanced Mathematics with Professor Scheiderer, and Introduction to Diplomacy with Headmaster Ozpin." Cinder closed her scroll, "Surprised to see him teaching a class at all. Figured he'd be the 'armchair general' type."

"Besides the diplomacy and combat classes, everything sounds rather normal," Mercury grinned, "Shouldn't be too difficult then, eh?"

Neo shook her head, a strange grin on her face, and she signed, _I think the combat classes with Professor Goodwitch will be an absolute treat._ Her teammates looked at her with worry.

"Neo's usual weirdness aside," Emerald said, ignoring the glare that Neo shot her, "I'm sure we can ask an upperclassman about what those two classes entail. Maybe 'CQC' doesn't actually mean what we think. Could be 'Cooking Quality Cuisine' or something."

Cinder and Mercury nodded in agreement, but all three of them had the same sinking feeling that there was no spoon when it came to Professor Goodwitch's subject. A sort of odd silence followed, but it was broken by Mercury.

"Wait, do you think all of the freshmen take the same classes?"

Cinder nodded, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure we would. Why do you…"

 _Wait, that girl with the bow is a freshman too._

Cinder grinned as she realised this, "I see…well, that just makes this all the more interesting, doesn't it?"

Emerald and Neo both looked at Cinder, rather confused, but Cinder merely snickered, looking past the team and towards the other side of the room. Realising that they weren't going to get an answer out of her, they instead looked to Mercury for answers, who simply sighed and shook his head.

"The little competition you lot have going on? Does that ring a bell?" Upon saying this, both Neo and Emerald looked to where Cinder was staring, and indeed they found that she was watching the beauty with the bow. The same thought crossed all three of their minds, and they grinned as Mercury watched with well-placed concern.

 _It looks like the battlefield just expanded._

* * *

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long shall form team RWBY!"

A round of polite applause sounded from the other students, and Blake felt an odd sense of happiness from Headmaster Ozpin's words. For once, she felt like she actually belonged to a group, that she had people to consider friends…even if they were school mandated. She watched as Yang brought Ruby into a hug, the two obviously happy about being together, and she couldn't help but smile at the sight.

 _They really are close, aren't they? I wonder if they ever fight…_

"I wish I got along with my sister like that…"

Blake looked over to see Weiss standing next to her, also watching the two sisters in their embrace. Weiss sighed, and Blake could see a twinge of melancholy cross the heiress's face, but it was gone in a swift moment as she turned to face Blake.

"I never did say anything about my sister, did I?" Blake shook her head, and Weiss continued, "She's technically older than I am, but father is choosing me to be the heiress of the company. I suppose he finds me to be more capable, but there is a bit more to it than that…" She sighed, turning her gaze back to Ruby and Yang, "We never got along all that well. She was a star student, great singer, has an amazing body, and was always popular at school. I seemed to always be following in her shadow, and for that I resented her."

Blake felt a great deal of sympathy for Weiss's plight. She knew what it felt like, always trying to fill the footsteps of someone else. Her brother, Adam, was always the prize child of her parents. Now, that isn't to say that her parents didn't love and care about her, but Adam was always a bit more. He was popular, he did well in school, and seemed like the most likely choice to take over the business after her father. Her place, as it stands, will most likely be taking after her mother's spot as the "Tea Mistress," but she honestly didn't wish to take after the business at all.

Blake figured that it wouldn't hurt to share this with Weiss, "I know what you mean Weiss. I have an older brother who…well, he sounds a lot like your sister, minus the 'stunning body' and 'great singing voice,' but I always felt like I was following in his footsteps," she smiled and gave Weiss a friendly squeeze on the shoulder, "He's actually going to take up the business. Father is so proud of him…"

In a surprising turn of events, Weiss put one arm around Blake, though she turned to face away from her. Blake was visibly surprised, but she soon smiled and put an arm around Weiss as well. The two stood that way for a few quiet moments before they were brought into a tight embrace by Yang and Ruby.

"Looks like we're going to be one big, happy family for the next four years!" Yang had a huge grin on her face, having her left arm around Weiss and her right around Blake, "Goooooo Team RWBY!"

Ruby was also grinning, joining her sister in completing the group hug, "Yup! We'll be having our meals together, studying together, supporting one another through hardships, baking cookies, sharing the same room-"

"Nude."

"Ye- wait, no!" Ruby's face turned red, and she scowled at Yang, who was snickering, "Yaaaang! Don't do that when I'm rambling!"

"Goodness Yang, you really _rose_ to take the bait there, eh?"

A sort of shocked silence fell over Yang, Ruby, and Blake, and they all turned to Weiss, who looked between the three of them with an expectant grin, apparently finding their reactions to be on point.

"You act like I can't make a joke or something, jeez…" Weiss looked away from her teammates, before Yang chuckled and lightly punched Weiss in the shoulder.

"Wow, I didn't think we would be able to melt the Ice Queen so quickly!" Weiss scowled at her, making Yang laugh even harder. Blake watched the little exchange with a small smile on her face, happy to see that her team seemed to be getting along admirably.

She felt a tug on her sleeve, and looking down she saw Ruby looking back up at her, a large smile on her face. Blake couldn't help but put her hand on Ruby's head, ruffling the girl's hair a bit. Ruby giggled and pushed Blake's hand away, and Blake knew for certain that she had found a good team to be with.

 _Everyone seems to be rather happy…I feel like these years are going to be interesting._

"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren shall form Team JNPR!"

Blake, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang all looked over to the newly formed team, who were all smiling and giving one another pats on the back. Blake felt rather bad for Jaune as he was knocked around by both Nora and Pyrrha, and the look on Ren's face showed that he felt the same way.

"Hey, let's go congratulate them! I mean, we already knew who our teams were going to be, but we are going to be staying right next to them for our time here, so we might as well, right?" Yang was still smiling as she said this.

Weiss nodded, "I do agree with Yang here. It would be the proper thing to do."

"Yeah, it wouldn't hurt," Ruby also agreed with Weiss and Yang. The three girls looked at Blake for her answer.

Blake simply smiled and nodded, and the four made their way over to Team JNPR. Pyrrha looked up at the group as they approached and grinned, giving them a wave which was swiftly returned.

"Hello again!" Pyrrha walked over to their team, grinning, "It looks like we're going to be seeing a lot more of each other for these next four years," Pyrrha looked over their group, before leaving her gaze on Blake herself, "Maybe even longer than that, if what Headmaster Ozpin said is true at all."

Blake smiled and nodded, "I eagerly look forward to it. I have a feeling that our time here will be very interesting, to say the least."

As if on cue, Yang slung an arm over Pyrrha's shoulders, "Kitty Cat knows what she's talking about! You're looking at the Lord Grand Chancellor of Interesting…" She turned Pyrrha towards Ruby, who shook her head rapidly. Of course, her sister's embarrassment wouldn't deter her, "Ruby Rose! She may be a bit quirky, and if you buy her a bouquet, she'll probably marry you-"

"Yaaaang, you're being really embarrassing right now!" Ruby's pleas were swiftly ignored.

"But you won't find a more interesting fifteen year old in all of Remnant!" Yang finished proudly while Ruby ducked down into her hood. Blake could only feel sympathy for Ruby at that moment, knowing what it feels like to be placed on a pedestal.

"So, where can I buy her a bouquet?" Pyrrha replied, with the straightest of faces, and Blake had to do all she could to not start laughing at the way Yang's face went from a cheesy grin to a look of pure horror. That didn't stop everyone else however, who started snickering at Yang's reaction. Pyrrha smirked, apparently pleased with how well her statement was received.

"You…you had better be joking, Nikos." Yang's horror quickly turned into a cold rage, and Blake quickly stepped in before anyone got hurt. She stepped between Yang and Pyrrah, gently pushing Yang away from her prey.

"Now now, Yang, I'm sure she was kidding," she looked back to Pyrrha, "Weren't you?"

Pyrrha quickly nodded, "Yes, I didn't mean to cause any issues, Yang. I was simply making a joke." She politely bowed, not a single bit of fear in her actions. Blake couldn't help but feel impressed.

 _She might be awkward socially, but she's absolutely fearless._

Blake turned back to Yang, "There, see? Everything's peachy, eh?" She kept her hands on Yang, and slowly but surely the blonde calmed down. Once it seemed she was perfectly fine, she sighed and stepped back.

 _Yeah, things will be very interesting with this team._

"Yeah, we all know that Ruby and Blakey would be the ones to get married!"

Of course, the peace that Blake had built was swiftly shattered as Nora decided to interject, well before Ren could stop her. Much to Blake's horror, Yang's eye twitched, and she began to slowly advance towards her.

"So…you think you're going to marry my sister?" Yang's words came out soft, something that Blake never thought she would fear. She held her hands out and shook her head, though it seemed to be ineffective as Yang cracked her knuckles, her eyes menacing. Blake's retreat was halted by a wall, and seeing no way out, she clenched her eyes shut, ready for her fate.

 _Great. Not even a full day here, and I'm already going to die. Please, gods above, do not let my mother find out about those 'special' novels that I took from her collection._

Expecting the end, Blake instead opened her eyes to find that, instead of murderous rage, Yang's eyes were filled with mirth. She smirked, then snorted, then began laughing.

"Y-Your face! Gods, Blake, your face was priceless!" Yang clutched her stomach as she laughed, and soon enough the rest of the teams were joining her. Blake, on the other hand, was trying her best to settle her racing heart.

"I see that everyone here is getting along well." The laughter died down as Professor Goodwitch approached. Stoic as ever, Blake could detect the faintest hint of a smile on her face.

 _Did she see my face just then?_

"Miss Belladonna…I must say, if you're looking for a Drama Club, there will be signups in about a week."

 _She saw._

Blake could feel her face light up, but she kept her composure, not wishing to give anyone else the benefit of seeing her embarrassed. "Are you the advisor for that club, Professor Goodwitch?"

Her deflection worked as Glynda quickly shook her head, "No, I happen to be the advisor for the Boxing Club."

A shared look of surprise fell over the teams, though Yang perked up at the mention of the Boxing club.

"There's a Boxing Club, Professor?" Yang's eyes sparkled, and Blake could see Ruby sigh from where she was standing.

"Indeed there is, Miss Xiao Long. If you're interested, signups are next week."

Yang seemed very excited , and Blake could only assume that she was interested in boxing. _I'll have to ask Ruby about it later._

Glynda cleared her throat, "At any rate, that is not what I came over here for. This year we are testing a team advisor system using the school's professors, and I have been assigned to both of your teams. This means that I will be available to personally assist you with any issues you may have, academic or otherwise."

Yang snickered, and Glynda turned to look at her, "Something you find funny, Miss Xiao Long?"

"N-No, Professor Goodwitch," Yang was still smiling, "Just, ah, what other problems would you assist us with?"

Ruby slapped Yang on the arm, shaking her head rapidly, and Yang's grin melted from her face as she realised what she had just said. "Ah, I guess it'd be stuff like…settling in! Homesickness, stuff like that?" Yang nervously chuckled, and Blake could see the bullets that she was sweating.

"Indeed, Miss Xiao Long, that _is_ what I will be able to assist with. Your inappropriate use of innuendos, however, I can only fix with liberal application of punishment."

Yang nodded solemnly, and a rather awkward silence settled over the group before Jaune decided to raise his hand.

"So…you're basically our mother then?" Jaune's question was rewarded with a scornful look from Glynda, and he mumbled a quiet "never mind." Ren sympathetically patted his shoulder.

"At any rate, I will go ahead and give you a basic tour of the facilities and grounds. If you would follow me…"

The teams followed Professor Goodwitch, with Blake hanging in the back with the rest of her teammates. The eight of them talked amongst themselves, creating a rather cheery atmosphere that Blake felt rather comfortable in. However, she noticed that Glynda stayed quiet for most of the tour, only speaking to point out important locations.

"Professor Goodwitch, what made you decide to become a teacher?" Blake asked as the group left the cafeteria, heading towards the athletics hall. Glynda glanced back at Blake, smiling softly.

"My reason for becoming a teacher…if you're expecting something noble like 'I wanted to give children the gift of knowledge' or 'I wanted to serve the community,' then you're going to be disappointed."

Blake chuckled, "Then enlighten us." The other students also ceased their conversations, and were now listening with rapt attention. Glynda looked at the students and sighed.

"I did it because…someone I admired was going to become a teacher."

The group looked rather surprised, Blake included.

Yang asked curiously, "Admired as in…?"

"I had a crush on them."

Weiss swiftly stepped in, "Did they reciprocate your affection?" At the strange look that Glynda gave her, she huffed, "What? Who says that I can't be interested in romance?"

Glynda smiled sadly and shook her head, "No, they didn't. They ended up moving away not too long after I began university, and I never heard from her again."

"Wait, her?" Jaune asked, and Glynda cringed before nodding, apparently not wanting that information to have slipped out.

"So why did you stay with education?" Pyrrha was the next one to ask a question, and Glynda smirked.

"Well, besides having already put my Lien into my classes, I also made a couple of close friends while I was there. Same major."

"Well, I'm glad that you did." The team looked over to Ruby, who was smiling at Glynda, "You're a great teacher, Professor Goodwitch."

Glynda looked surprised, and she smiled at Ruby, "Well…thank you, Ruby. I don't hear that too often from my students."

"Well, she's right," Blake said, nodding, "You might be strict, but I can tell that you care about your students."

Glynda looked away from the group, though Blake could see that she was smiling, "Thank you, Blake. That means quite a bit."

Everyone's curiosity sated, they went back to their normal conversations, now with Glynda joining in every now and again. Again, Blake felt as though she had accomplished some good.

* * *

Ozpin watched the CCTV cameras from his office, keeping his attention on Team RWBY and Team JNPR. He smiled as he saw Glynda join in with their conversations. He took a sip of his coffee before turning his attention to Port and Oobleck, who were watching the cameras with him.

"Everything is going swimmingly," he said, setting his mug on his desk, "Glynda is speaking with the students on a more natural level, instead of exuding authority over them."

Both Oobleck and Port looked surprised by this news.

"That's…quite the change," Port said, his eyebrows raised.

"Indeed it is! Who do you think is responsible?" Oobleck asked, sitting forward in his chair.

Ozpin chuckled and pointed to Blake, "The same girl that Glynda has shown a rather deep-seated interest in."

"Blake? Why would she be interested in her?" Port asked, a bit of confusion in his voice. Oobleck nodded, apparently wondering the same question.

Ozpin merely shrugged. "Who knows gentlemen? The only thing I know is that she's Glynda's focus, and that we should help our dear friend realise what this focus truly is."

Both Oobleck and Port nodded, though Oobleck looked a bit concerned.

"Bartholomew, what seems to be the matter?" Ozpin asked, sipping his coffee.

"Not concern, per se," Oobleck sighed and shook his head, "It's probably nothing, but why do I feel like we're trying to be Glynda's wingmen again?"

"That's because we are," Ozpin stated matter-of-factly.

"The last time we did that ended in disaster, Ozpin," Port frowned behind his moustache, "Wasn't it poor Marjolaine that we tried to set her up with? Glynda was absolutely devastated when that fell through!"

Ozpin chuckled, "Yes, you are quite right about that little plan not working, but there's a big difference between the situation with Marjolaine and the situation that we are facing now…" He put his arms around both Oobleck's and Port's shoulders, grinning.

"We're the teachers this time."

* * *

"That concludes our tour of Beacon Academy."

The tour had lasted several hours, and the stars had long since come out with the night sky. Blake and the rest of the group was now standing in front of the entrance to the dorms, and she could see from the way everyone was slowly shuffling that everyone was feeling rather tired. Ruby seemed to have been affected the hardest, yawning every few moments. The sight made Blake giggle softly.

 _She really is a child…talented, but still young._

"If there are no other questions, you should return to your dorms to rest. Classes start tomorrow, after all." Glynda watched as the students shuffled inside, even Jaune was too tired to ask anything. She stopped Blake as she was about to enter.

"Blake…thank you," the smile she wore was genuine, and it made Blake rather happy.

"For what, Glynda?"

Glynda gave Blake a friendly squeeze on her shoulder before leaning into her ear, "For being a friend." Before Blake could properly reply, she released Blake and walked away. Blake watched her for a while before heading inside after her team.

 _She really is a good woman. Stern and professional, but deep down she's really friendly._

Along the way to her room, she felt someone tug on the hem of her shirt. Looking back and slightly down, she saw that the multi-haired girl from earlier had stopped her. The girl had switched out of her uniform, and was now wearing a pair of white pyjama bottoms and a pink shirt with a cute ice cream cone.

"Ah, hello," Blake said curiously, "Is there something you want?"

The girl smiled and reached into her pocket, pulling out a small notepad and pen. Blake watched as she began to furiously write in the notepad. When she finished, she ripped the page out and handed it to Blake.

Blake took the page, reading it over.

 _I wanted to say hello. My name is Neo, what's yours? P.S. Do you know sign language?_ Blake looked back towards the girl, who simply watched her with a smile on her face. _She must be mute then._

"Well, Neo, my name is Blake," she smiled and held a hand out to her, "I don't know sign language, but I could probably find a couple of books to study."

To her surprise, Neo grabbed her hand and, kneeling, kissed the back before letting it go. Blake could feel her face flush slightly, and Neo covered her mouth as she silently giggled.

"Ugh, Neo, what are you doing." A muffled voice from behind Neo's door spoke, before the door opened to reveal the girl with black hair, wearing a rather sensual set of black pyjamas. She had a rather bored expression on her face, but upon seeing Blake she quickly smiled.

"W-Well, hello there," the girl held her hand out to Blake, "My name's Cinder Fall. I see you've already met our little ice cream cone."

Blake shook her hand, "Blake Belladonna, nice meeting you."

Cinder nodded awkwardly, "Yeah! You too, yeah…you single?"

Blake raised an eyebrow, and Neo began snickering before Cinder shook her head, embarrassed, "Ah, I mean, no, uh…"

Cinder was interrupted by a tan girl in boy shorts and a tank top pushing past her, grabbing one of Blake's hands and shaking it.

"Hey there Blake, name's Emerald Sustrai," she said, smiling, "Please ignore the awkwardness of my partner Cinder. She's not good around pretty girls."

"Pretty girls?" Blake asked, curiously.

"Well, yeah, and I'm not talking about Neo here." She flashed Blake a confident grin, and she rolled her eyes.

"Riiiight. Well, it was nice meeting you guys, tell your other teammate I said hi," Blake released Emerald's hand and backed away from the group. Cinder had her face buried in her hands, Neo was smiling sweetly, and Emerald was still grinning.

"Oh, Mercury? Yeah, yeah, we will I guess." Emerald chuckled, nonchalantly flipping her hand, "We'll see you later Blake! Ciao~"

Blake nodded and watched the three go back into their room, Cinder looking like she was on the verge of tears. Blake couldn't help but laugh at the entire situation on her way back to her dorm.

 _Jeez, you'd think all the girl's at this school had a crush on me or something!_

* * *

 **AN: Privyet, pirozhki! General Katyusha here! I want to apologise for this coming out so late! Work and school came up, and let's just say that doing 15 credit hour semesters does not leave a lot of time for other things.**

 **It doesn't help that I like to push out a large amount of writing that I try to make high-quality.**

 **With that in mind, tell me how you like it! Like, share, comment, subscribe if you want to see stories similar to this one! You are my reason for writing, after all!**

 **With that, this is General Katyusha, signing off!**


	3. Chapter III: First Day (Part I)

The rest of the evening after the banquet had been filled with idle chatter for Blake's team, though it wasn't long before everyone got ready for sleep. Blake made sure to have her school supplies and alarm ready for the morning, not wanting to take a chance regarding punctuality.

Sleep was never an easy thing for Blake to fall into, and her first night away from home didn't help much. In her restlessness, she simply watched the rest of her team fall asleep ( _I really hope this doesn't make me a creep_ ).

Ruby had been first, falling into a deep slumber by about 2230. She had actually fallen asleep a bit before the rest of the team, who finally got into their own beds by 2300. _It almost seems like she has a bedtime…how cute._

She noticed that Weiss fidgeted about for a while, no doubt unused to not sleeping on silken quilts and goose down pillows. However, her movements slowed and eventually ceased by midnight. Blake could tell from the steady rise and fall of her covers that the heiress had fallen asleep. _I wonder if she scowls in her sleep too…_

The only one that she wasn't sure of was Yang. Of course, she couldn't see the blonde through her bed, so she had to listen closely to tell when the girl fell asleep. As she tuned in, she could hear faint mumbling.

"…watch over…keep her safe…"

 _Is she praying? For Ruby?_ Blake was a bit confused. She didn't take Yang for the religious type, after all. Her curiosity lit, she tried to focus more on her voice.

"…doing my best, don't worry…miss you Summer…"

It was at this point that Blake realised what she was listening in on was a bit more personal than just a prayer. She was even more curious, but she figured that it would be best not to ask, at least not now. She continued to listen for a bit longer until finally the mumbles faded away and were replaced with soft snoring.

 _Well, there goes my entertainment._

Figuring that it would be rude to put on a light and read, Blake took to trying her hardest to sleep. Her mind was racing, with thoughts of what Yang was saying and of whether Weiss scowled or not. She also wondered what Glynda's pa-jam-jams looked like, and whether Neo made any noise while sleeping. The last two thoughts were a bit more sudden, though still very interesting when they came about.

Even with all of her thoughts, she was able to find sleep after a few hours of tossing and turning.

* * *

 _There we go! Now, would it be better if I used the cayenne pepper, or if I instead boiled the whole blend with a scotch bonnet…_

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

The lovely racket of the alarm roused Blake from her rather hot dream. She groggily rose and wiped her eyes before turning off the alarm. Yawning, she stepped out of bed and grabbed her uniform, heading towards the bathroom. Looking back, she was surprised to see that Ruby was sitting up…though a second inspection revealed that the younger girl had fallen back asleep, her eyes still shut. Blake giggled and headed into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Getting ready didn't take much more than tossing on her uniform, brushing her teeth, and giving her hair a rather thorough brushing. Her hair set straight, she affixed her signature bow to the top of her head and exited the bathroom. By that time, Ruby was fully awake, and Weiss was also beginning to wake up, though she did not seem happy about it.

"Morning Ruby," Blake said, heading over to her bed to get her school supplies ready, "Did you sleep well?"

"Uh, y-yeah! Yeah, I slept really well!" Ruby was looking away from her, and Blake could detect a hint of nervousness in her voice. Blake figured that she was still a bit nervous about being in a new school.

"That's good to hear," Blake smiled at Ruby, who smiled back, before turning to Weiss, "How about you, princess?"

She was rewarded with a scowl ( _Though I think she woke up with that…_ ), "I slept well enough, though these beds are harder than what I'm used to."

"Angel feathers the norm at your house, eh?" Blake couldn't help but snicker.

"Sateen silk sheets, goose down, and everything has a thread count of 300." Weiss's reply was very straightforward, and her face held no hint of amusement.

Ruby looked rather confused, and she leaned over the edge of her bed to look at Weiss, "Uh…but wouldn't a 400 thread count be better?" At the surprised looks of both Weiss and Blake, Ruby blushed, "I…took home economics…"

Weiss shook her head, "Anything above 300 is generally a waste according to our research, since they'll use lesser fibres as filler. Of course, if Father did order that and find out, they would be on the streets faster than you could sneeze, but he figures that it's better to simply order what is already excellent."

 _I bet they use only natural orphan tears for their toilet water too._

Blake had to suppress the urge to poke more fun at her wealth, figuring that a confrontation would not make for a happy morning. She instead looked over to Yang, and found that her worry was better spent in finding out why Yang was still asleep.

"Hey…Ruby," she asked, peering over the lip of Yang's bed, "Shouldn't we wake Yang up?" The blonde was fast asleep, and apparently was a heavy sleeper to boot, not even twitching. Ruby came over and stood next to Blake, also looking at her sister. She snickered.

"She's a fairly heavy sleeper," she said before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a whistle, "But this generally wakes her up."

Fearing for the worst, Blake cupped her ears, which Weiss copied. However, the moment that Ruby put the whistle to her lips, Yang's eyes shot open and she scrambled out of the bed, hurdling over the foot of her bunk and grabbing her uniform.

"No no no! You're not using that accursed thing on me again!" Yang was holding her uniform in a rather undignified ball, glaring at Ruby. Blake could see a small glint of fear in her eyes, and this was what worried her the most.

 _Just what does that thing do…_

"Then you better get ready." Weiss stood up and displayed her scroll to the group. The display showed that it was about half an hour before their first class began. The fear of being late filled them with determination, and the sisters both rushed into the bathroom, struggling to both fit through the doorframe. Fit they did, however, and they swiftly shut the door behind them.

"Are they changing together?!" Weiss sounded shrill, and Blake was worried that the heiress was going to contact some sort of "Moral's Committee" in order to have them punished.

"Weiss…they're sisters, remember?"

"Oh…right." Weiss picked up her uniform and frowned, "Where am I going to change then?"

"I imagine that you'll change in here?"

Weiss huffed, "Well, yes, because I'm not going to change _with_ Yang and Ruby, but I can't change in here either."

Blake gave Weiss a confused look, "Why can't you?"

"Because you're in here, dolt!"

Blake, against her better judgement, decided that "Oh? I figured you'd want an audience" was a smart response to this. Initially, it got the reaction she wanted, as Weiss's face turned red and she looked absolutely flabbergasted. However, the unintended consequence was when Weiss opened the door to the hall before pushing Blake out, slamming and locking it behind her.

 _I can't say that I'm surprised with that…_

"Oh! M-Morning!"

Blake turned around to find that Cinder was standing near her door. She seemed rather surprised at Blake's appearance.

"Good morning Cinder," Blake smiled at her, "Checking to make sure I'm still single?"

Cinder rubbed her forehead, looking thoroughly embarrassed, "I, ah, I didn't mean to say that."

Blake giggled, "Don't worry, I'm just teasing you, though to answer your question I am very much single."

Cinder's face lit up, "Really? That's great!" At Blake's rather curious look, she shook her head, "I-I mean, it's not _great_ , but it's…ah…surprising?"

"It is, isn't it?"

Cinder and Blake looked over to see that Pyrrha had stepped out of her room, along with the rest of her team. While Pyrrha and Ren were wearing pristine uniforms, Blake saw that Jaune had some toothpaste on his collar, while Nora had apparently opened a bottle of maple syrup at some point and gotten several droplets on her skirt. Surprisingly, it actually looked rather well done and fashionable, so Blake couldn't help but wonder if it was intentional.

"Good morning, Blake," Pyrrha smiled warmly at her, and Blake smiled back. Turning to Cinder, Pyrrha's smile fell ever so subtly, "Good morning as well…Cinder, is it?"

Demeanour changed, Cinder faced Pyrrha with rather unexpected confidence, "Cinder Fall, though if you really wanted to know you could have asked instead of listening in on someone else's conversation."

Blake took a slight step back from the two, visibly surprised at the heat behind Cinder's words. _From Ruby-tier awkward to Weiss levels of venom with the push of a button._

Pyrrha, ever stoic, merely smirked, "Well, I apologise for simply being in the vicinity when your name was mentioned. I only came out here because I heard Blake, and I wanted to see if maybe she would mind if I joined her…" Pyrrha stepped over to Blake, nudging her slightly, "As a friend."

Cinder stepped to the other side of Blake, brushing shoulders with her, "Funny, because I was coming over to ask the same thing."

"Without us, you mean?" Emerald and Neo walked over to the group, giving Cinder a rather displeased look before smiling and waving to Blake. Mercury trailed behind, sighing and shaking his head.

Cinder didn't falter for a second, turning towards the rest of her team with a flourish, "Well, if you guys would have gotten up earlier, then I wouldn't have needed to leave so early. Strike while the iron is…" she looked over to Blake and winked, "Hot."

 _Well, I don't think there's any mistaking her intentions._

Blake noticed Pyrrha tense up and scowl at Cinder's behaviour, however she kept quiet. Neo, on the other hand, began to rapidly sign, a smug look on her face. Cinder's confident smile began to fall, and Emerald started snickering before outright laughing. Ren and Nora were the only ones who didn't react with confusion, with Ren looking visibly surprised at points and Nora laughing along with Emerald.

At this point, the door behind Blake opened to reveal Yang, Ruby, and Weiss. They looked rather surprised upon seeing the large group in front of their dorm, though Weiss merely scowled before grabbing Blake's hand and dragging her down the hallway. Yang and Ruby swiftly followed, and after a few moments of hesitation, so did the rest of the group.

Yang lightly slapped Blake on the shoulder, whistling, "Jeez Blake, you became the most popular girl in school without even trying!" She reached up and gently prodded Blake's bow, "Must be something under here. Mind control device or pheromone spray, something like that."

"Yang, you know that mind control doesn't work like that," Ruby said, "Besides, Blake doesn't seem like the type to use mind control on other people. That's evil."

"I can assure you, there is nothing under my bow for you to see…" Blake looked down to her hand, which Weiss still held, "Uh…Weiss?"

She turned her head toward Blake, "What do you need, dolt."

"Are you going to hold my hand the entire way to class?"

Weiss looked down to her hand, blushed, and quickly let go, "O-Of course I'm not! I merely wanted you to get a move on, dolt!"

"Ah, yes, of course, my apologies for assuming otherwise." Though calm and collected on the outside, Blake was laughing internally. Indeed, Weiss was much too easy to embarrass.

"Um…Blake," Blake turned her head towards Ruby, "What's our first class anyway?"

"If I remember correctly, it's Biology with Professor Oobleck."

Ruby's eyes shined and she swiftly got alongside Blake, "Really?! Do you think we're going to do plant-based life forms first? What about Mendelian Inheritance? Do you think we're going to focus on genetics at all? Oooh, I hope we have a project on cell structure! I built this plant cell model for Yang's science project, and she got an A! It was made of sty-"

Blake gently pressed a finger against Ruby's lips, shaking slightly with barely suppressed laughter. Yang was outright laughing, and Weiss merely watched her in surprise.

"Ruby," Blake said, lowering her hand, "I'm sure we'll spend plenty of time working with plants and plant models. They have an arboretum, one of the best in the region."

Weiss stepped forward and nodded decisively, "Indeed we do! The Schnee Dust Company donated the building and every single plant inside to the school in celebration of our new environmental standards." Weiss puffed her chest out proudly, seemingly pleased with the deeds of her family's company.

"Didn't the Schnee Dust Company fail its emission tests only a month later?" Emerald was the one who voiced this, earning a questioning look from Pyrrha and Cinder as well.

"Indeed, I remember reading something about the SDC actually increasing its emissions within the week." Cinder smirked at Weiss's discomfort.

"Ah, w-well, we found that indeed _some_ factories were not properly following our guidelines, but that was quickly rectified."

"By firing all of the workers." Pyrrha spoke with nonchalance, but it struck a chord with Weiss, who nervously scratched the back of her neck. Blake could tell that she was getting backed into a corner. Yang was watching with a bemused smirk, and Ruby looked a tad bit upset. Neo was nonplussed, while Jaune, Ren, and Nora watched in earnest.

 _I think she could use some help._

Luckily, they had just arrived to their first class. Blake clapped her hands together, getting the attention of the group. She merely tilted her head towards the door next to them.

"I think questions can wait for later," she said, giving Cinder, Emerald, and Pyrrha a rather disapproving look, "We have a class to get to."

* * *

The first day of a new year was always something that Bartholemew Oobleck never really looked forward to. It was a bunch of bollocks involving syllabi and rules and expected behaviour. Boring, every single bit of it.

However, this year was a bit different. In another surprise change, Ozpin decided to eschew the entire ceremony with the first day and gave teachers the green light to just jump right into the classes. It made many of the faculty members very happy, though Peter, Glynda, and he were rather wary about the change.

 _We've known Ozpin since university…he always had some sort of plan ready, and he never did anything without an ulterior motive. Troubling._

Hearing the distant chatter of students outside of his room, he quickly got behind his desk and took a long drink from his thermos. As he did, the door opened, and students began to trickle into his room. Most of the students began to take to the back of the room ( _as if I won't see them_ ), though there were a few groups that took to the front. Finally, Teams RWBY, MENC, and JNPR walked in. At this point, many of the seats were filled, and they looked rather confused in where they were going to sit.

"Ah! Team RWBY, go ahead and take the empty seats in the third row, right side. Team JNPR, take the small block, rows two and three, close to the aisle on the left. MENC, there are seats right in the front for you, centre aisle!"

He smiled behind his thermos as the group split and went to their respective seats. Judging by the ways Pyrrha, Emerald, Neo, and Cinder looked at Blake, he could tell that Ozpin's original plan already had some unaccounted variables.

 _Or are they accounted for? Why else would Ozpin ask me to observe and report how the three teams worked?_ Again, Oobleck drank from his thermos, his intrigue and concern both rising.

Still, there was a class to teach, and he set his thermos back down, "Hello and good morning class! My name is Bartholemew Oobleck, though you may call me Professor Oobleck, or simply Professor. Now, I'm sure many of you are expecting a rather boring session of syllabi and rule setting, but we actually won't be doing this for any of your classes today! Instead, we will be jumping straight into our subject, and the first thing that we will be talking about in this class will be about the basic building blocks of life…cells!"

The deer-in-headlights look from the majority of the class was not a surprise to him, and the many groans that circulated the classroom had become old hat by this point. However, he was pleasantly surprised to see that Ruby was looking earnestly towards the board.

 _Good! Always nice to have an attentive and interested student!_

"Now, turn to page 32 in your textbooks…"

* * *

 _How can anyone speak so quickly and with so much excitement…and still manage to be this boring!_

Yang had to resist the urge to slam her face into her book and get more sleep. She was never a huge fan of the science classes (except when it came to chemistry), and she could definitely confirm that Professor Oobleck didn't change her thoughts on the matter.

She looked to her left, towards where Ruby and Weiss were sitting. Ruby was attentively paying attention ( _go figure, my adorable nerd sister_ ), and Weiss was swiftly jotting down notes on the subject, a slightly panicked look in her eyes as she tried to keep up with Professor Motormouth. Yang snickered at the sight.

 _Wonder how Blake is keeping up with this dude…_

She turned to her right, and found that Blake was attentively paying attention to her book…or so the professor would think. Yang saw that she was actually reading another book behind her textbook, which was still on page 32 (while her textbook remained unopened). Yang, curious as to what Blake liked to read, decided to focus on the words on her page.

"… _she found that the hot springs were completely empty. Pleased with her newfound" yadda yadda yadda "she stripped down-"_ Yang leaned forward a bit more, _That's a lot of text, skip, skip…ah, "'Oh? Sakura, whatever is the matter?' Michi said, concern evident in her voice, 'Are you lonely, perhaps?' She patted the spot next to her, and beckoned her friend over…_

The further that Yang got into the story, the more risqué it became. She could feel her cheeks light up, and she unconsciously gripped the arm of her chair, but continue to read she did. Engrossed with the book as she was, Yang didn't notice that Blake had not moved a single page until she finished the final word. Looking up, she saw that Blake was staring back at her, looking rather amused by Yang's intense reading.

"I didn't take you for a heavy reader, Yang," she said, smirking.

Yang nervously chuckled and scratched her head, "I, ah, never find anything good to really read." She quickly looked back towards the professor, who was still speeding past a bunch of stuff about carbon-based life, before turning back to Blake. Curiously, she asked "How did you know I was reading?"

"Considering that I could hear and feel your breathing, I had to take a gander."

Yang's blush deepened, though Blake merely smiled pleasantly, "Oh! Nothing to be ashamed of, I'm actually kind of happy that you took to it so well." At Yang's rather curious look, Blake blushed, "Most people who find out I read this kind of stuff think I'm weird or perverted."

Yang quickly shook her head, "Nah, it's not weird or anything…though I don't want to find Ruby reading this stuff."

"Why not? It's sweet and pure, and the connection between Michi and Sakura is on a whole different level." Blake said, a rather stern look on her face, "This type of forbidden love, between a princess and a serving girl? Glorious."

"Blake…Michi took Sakura to the bone zone, and in more detail than even I expected. I don't really want Ruby learning that kind of stuff so soon."

"Oh…right." Blake nodded and blushed, quietly closing her book and setting it back into her bag, "I guess I just have a different way of looking at it. It's not really 'sex,' but more of…achieving a deeper connection."

Yang snickered, "Yeah, knuckle deep." At Blake's glare, she settled down and waved it off, "I'm just kidding, but you understand what I mean, right?"

Blake sighed and nodded, "Yeah, I do, but if she happens to get into my books and I find she's reading them, I'm not stopping her."

"Oh? Hoping she'll learn a thing or two?"

"Yang, considering that you were about to pummel me into a pulp during the ceremony, I don't think I'd tell you if I actually did want your sister to learn how to frick frack."

"Hey, come on kit cat, I wouldn't actually beat you if you did want to do the deed with little Ruby…but you'd have to make her an honest woman if you wanted to do that."

Of course, Yang meant that in a joking manner. After all, there was no way she was giving up her little sister to anyone. She wasn't expecting Blake to nod in agreement and hold out her hand.

"Uh…what's that?" Yang asked, confusion in her voice.

Blake smirked in amusement, "Agreeing to your deal. If I want to have your sister, I'll have to marry her. It's a done deal, eh?"

Yang's eyes went wide, and she could feel a slight twitch in her neck. Blake pulled her hand back before giggling, putting her hand over her mouth to keep quiet. It was at that moment that Yang realised Blake was joking, and she stealthily slid her pencil back into her bag, chuckling with Blake.

"Oooh, right, good joke there Blakey."

In the swiftest instant, Blake became deathly serious, "But, in all seriousness, I don't fool around with girls like that. If I fall for your sister, I'll tell you. Don't worry."

 _Well, that was sudden._

In all honesty, Yang wasn't sure what she felt about Blake (or anyone) dating her sister. She had watched over Ruby since she was a kid, and honestly she had become the most important person in her life. Blake was rather trustworthy, yeah, but something about her dating Ruby made her uneasy.

 _Maybe it's because we'd be competing for the same girl._

"Thank you for your honesty, Blake. Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

 _Because I don't think I could let Ruby win this match._

* * *

Pyrrha was a star student, always has been. She had the habit of being able to ignore any and all distractions in a classroom, and she could easily take notes from the most boring (or the most rambling) teachers in all of Remnant. Truly, nothing and no one could match her academic prowess.

However, she did not have such an easy time today, as her mind kept wandering to her confrontation with Cinder earlier.

 _What an absolute bi- er, jerk! Careful there Pyrrha, mother wouldn't approve of that language._

She had her gaze set on the black-haired girl in the very front, who was calmly writing in her notebook ( _no doubt about how she plans on stealing- er, getting Blake_ ). For some reason she could not comprehend, the girl made her feel a rather intense anger and rage. She truly wanted to punch her in the mouth when she called her out on eavesdropping, which she totally wasn't doing.

 _I simply heard Blake in the hallway. So what if I might have waited a few minutes to hear what she was saying? I didn't want to catch her unawares._

She jumped as she felt a soft nudge in her side, and she turned to see a rather worried looking Jaune.

"Yes Jaune, what do you need?"

"I, ah, just wanted to make sure that you are alright." He sounded very nervous as he said this, and Pyrrha noticed that his hand was slightly shaking.

"I'm doing perfectly fine, why do you ask?"

"Um…" Jaune simply looked down towards her hand, and she saw that her pencil had long since snapped in her grip. She quickly let go of the now-crushed wood and graphite, and nervously chuckled, wiping the rest of it off on her desk.

"Ah, sorry, just got really intense while writing."

Jaune merely nodded and turned back to his doodles. Pyrrha, now pencil-less, decided to turn her attention back to Cinder, who was idly whispering with the green-haired girl next to her.

 _Cheeky git, I'll give her the what for._

Hearing a soft chuckle, she panned over to where Blake was sitting, and saw that she and Yang were whispering about…something or other, she wasn't sure. She was sure, however, that the sight of the raven-haired beauty instantly calmed her down.

 _I don't even know if she likes girls…heck, I didn't even know if_ _ **I**_ _liked girls until just recently._

"Psssssssst, Py-Py!"

Pyrrha turned around to Nora, who was leaning over her desk in a not-very-inconspicuous manner.

"What is it, Nora?" Pyrrha made sure to flash her signature smile, though she wasn't sure if that really had an effect on Nora.

"Blake really likes Earl Grey tea," Nora said, still whispering, "So if you want to get close with her, I'd recommend that. It's also more legal than handcuffing yourself to her, but not as sexy."

Nora shot her a thumbs up before being pulled back into her seat by Ren. Pyrrha was absolutely speechless, and she simply turned back around to face the front of the room. How Nora knew what Blake's favourite tea was, or how she could figure that she was thinking about Blake, she didn't know. All that she did know was that Nora knew things that others didn't, and that was extremely useful.

 _Thank you, Nora, for your odd, yet surprisingly helpful insight._

Still, she knew that it wouldn't be as easy as simply making her a cup of tea. To her, Blake was complex, unique. She could at least assume that she was friends with Blake, even if they never made an exact declaration of friendship, and she had an inkling that her interest in Blake _might_ go a bit farther than just platonic, but she didn't know how Blake felt in the slightest.

Looking back to where Blake and Yang were sitting, she couldn't help the subtle eye twitch as she saw Yang causing Blake to laugh. She immediately grabbed a new pen out of her bag and began to write in her notebook, though her notes quickly turned into plans and scenarios for dates with Blake.

She stopped writing after a bit, and looked back through what she wrote, blushing slightly. One phrase caught her eye though, something that she didn't realise she had written.

 _Get her alone, make her my own…maybe a serenade is on the schedule?_

* * *

For the most part, the class went rather well. Neo was used to the first day of school being a bit awkward for everyone involved, but it seemed as though Professor Oobleck was advised beforehand about her peculiar qualities. It made everything transpire much, much smoother.

It didn't make the subject any more enjoyable, of course, but she knew that there wouldn't be any issue with science. She excelled academically, which her team was extremely grateful for. That isn't to say that Emerald, Cinder, or Mercury were slackers…well, besides Mercury, Cinder and Emerald were competent, but they were just above average when it came to academic studies. They helped her in turn with more physical endeavours, like getting things off of high shelves or lifting heavy objects.

Appreciated effort, indeed, though she could do without the smirks and "soft talk" when she needed something from the top shelf, or when she needed help with opening a jar, or when she got tired at ten. She simply cared about getting plenty of sleep at night!

The class ended, and everyone began packing up their things. Neo slipped her rather bare notebook into her bag and stood, patiently waiting for Emerald and Cinder to get their things set up.

Oh, and Mercury. She looked back to see that Mercury was still sleeping on his book, his arm under his head. Apparently, the professor had a lax policy of students falling asleep, at least on the first day, so Mercury took full advantage of his diplomatic immunity.

 _How anyone can fall asleep during that deluge of information is completely unfathomable._

"Hey, Neo, go ahead and wake him up," Emerald said, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

Neo grinned and pulled a ruler out of her pouch. After taking a few solid practice swings, she slammed the ruler against the back of Mercury's hand, the ruler making a loud whistle as it sailed through the air. As expected, Mercury jolted awake, stumbled out of his chair, and picked up his book in a defensive stance. Noticing that his team was in a fit of giggles, he scowled and grabbed his stuff.

"You guys are pricks! You could have just shaken me awake or something."

After getting his bag over his shoulder, he rubbed his hand, which now had a lovely bruise from thumb to pinkie. The number two was even etched into his skin, along with a couple of lines. Neo figured that it'd heal in about a day or two, and that he should stop whining.

The four of them made their way out of Professor Oobleck's classroom, and made their way to Professor Port's. Much to Neo's (and she could only assume Emerald's and Cinder's) dismay, Blake and her team already had their seats near the centre of the room, while her team had to take the front row…again.

"Good morning class," Professor Port said, standing at the front of the class, "My name is Professor Port, and I will be teaching you about the history of Remnant! Now, as you probably heard in your last class, we will not be going over a syllabus, and instead we'll be dropping straight into our first subject, which will be the Formation of Vale! Now, firstly…"

The professor began to go on about the history of Vale, and Neo was taking notes along with the rest of the class. It was honestly an interesting subject, and Professor Port put plenty of detail into the wars that the people of Vale waged with the ancient Grimm. Of course, most people felt that it was merely folklore by that point, since no one had seen Grimm for thousands of years, but Neo felt otherwise.

However, Neo noticed that the professor fell off the path at some point, and was now talking about his camping trip in Southern Vale, trying to track down an elusive "Nevermore." She noticed that everyone else had ceased their note taking as well, apart from the short girl with white hair, who was still scratching down notes in her book. Neo felt a small twinge of admiration, seeing someone so studious, and she decided to also keep taking notes.

 _Never know. Some teachers are absolutely bananas like that._

However, her attention waned after the first three pages ( _Seriously, the effect of garlic on leg wounds? Who the hell puts garlic in their leg!_ ), and she looked back towards Blake and her team. Yang, from what she could tell, was having a small poking war with Ruby, while Weiss was currently glaring a hole through them.

 _She also gives off a commanding aura. Interesting._

Finally, her eyes rested upon Blake, who was looking down at her book. She couldn't help but smile as she watched the girl, adoring every single bit about her. From the golden hue of her eyes to the cute twitch in her bow, everything just…fit.

 _Wait…twitch of her bow?_

She looked closer at the bow, and indeed saw that it twitched. Fascinated, she continued to observe her, smiling ever more at each movement of her bow.

 _How…peculiar! Faunus, maybe?_

Now, in Remnant, there were only two things about Faunus that Neo really knew. For starters, they were basically humans with certain animal characteristics. Generally ears and tails, sometimes horns, and they also have some heightened senses. Secondly, there was some racial tension between Faunus and humans in some parts of the world. Beacon and her surrounding lands were rather open-minded by comparison, but she had heard tale of some seedier Faunus neighbourhoods being hostile to humans, while many backwater human towns were openly prejudice against the Faunus.

For Neo, she was of the group that didn't care. How could she, in good conscious, hold hatred to a group of people who have not done her wrong, especially when those that bullied her in the past were always humans?

 _Not Cinder though._

Indeed, Cinder was the first friend that she ever really made. She stood up for Neo in their youth, her ferocity akin to fire, and the two became very close as a result. Cinder would protect her from anyone would bully or hurt her, and Neo would help Cinder out with academics and, for the most part, simply be a friend.

Honestly, that was the reason why this entire competition for Blake made Neo feel a bit uncomfortable, because she knew that no mercy could be shown for Cinder or Emerald…or anyone else.

While she was staring, Blake looked up from her book, and locked eyes with her. Neo smiled and, a bit of bravado coursing through her veins, she made a little heart symbol with her hands and held it out to her. Blake blushed and quickly returned to her book, making Neo giggle silently.

 _She's an absolute treat!_

"Miss Politan!" Neo swiftly turned around to see Professor Port glaring ( _I think_ ) in her direction, "Is there something that you would like to share with the class?"

Blushing lightly, she quickly signed, _I was asking if Blake got the particulars of your story, since it was so interesting._

 _Better to make sure they do or don't know sign language before I do anything stupid._

Professor Port smiled, "Well, I'm glad you're looking after your fellow classmates so well! Still, I expect everyone to remember what I'm saying here, because it _might_ be on a test in the future!"

A collective look of terror flashed across the faces of most of the students, all except for Jaune, who had fallen asleep; Pyrrha, who was nodding sternly; Weiss, who was smirking slightly; Blake, who remained rather stoic; and Neo, who was smiling sweetly. She took very careful notes, after all.

Still, finding out that Professor Port understood her was both refreshing and disheartening. She didn't have an easy way to send messages around without being caught.

 _Well…I could always work on learning a new sign language…maybe I can learn it with Blake, and it can be our own~_

* * *

For the most part, Ruby was thoroughly enjoying her first day of school. Professor Oobleck's class fit her fancy completely, especially when he began his lecture over the complex differences between Remnant's carbon based lifeforms and the possibilities of phosphorus or nitrogen based lifeforms on other planets. He even mentioned how he liked to expand his class into a bit of geology later in the year, which intrigued Ruby greatly. Rocks were pretty cool!

However, she could not say the same about Professor Port's class. History was never her real forte, and she could simply not get into listening to his outrageous stories. She did her best to take notes, truly, but eventually her attention was dragged away from taking proper notes and towards doodling in her notebook.

That was before Yang decided to nudge in the side. She was able to ignore the prodding for the first couple of times, but Yang continued to poke and poke until she finally fell for the bait and poked back. This turned into a ten minute poking war, neither of the two sisters relenting until Weiss finally snapped.

"Will you two grow up?!" She whispered harshly, pointing her pencil towards the two. Ruby immediately dropped her arms and nodded sullenly, but Yang smirked, accepting Weiss's admonishment as a challenge.

"I think you're the only one who needs to grow up here, Ice Queen." For added emphasis, Yang decided to puff out her chest, showing off her ample (and rather worry, in Ruby's eyes) assets. This drew more ire from the heiress, whose face turned bright red before she tossed her pencil at Yang.

"You are an absolutely uncouth brute!" She turned back to her notes and grabbed another pencil from her bag before furiously writing more notes on the professor's lecture. Yang fist pumped the air in victory and turned towards Blake with a look that oozed smug confidence. Ruby knew that most people would fall for that suave charm, trying to get on her sister's good side because she was good looking and she could easily kick your ass. So she was surprised when Blake merely shook her head with a look that expressed disappointment.

"That was a low blow, Yang," Blake said, looking back towards her book.

"Aww, come on, I didn't really-"

Blake held a hand up to Yang, silencing her, before setting a bookmark and putting her novel down. At this point, Ruby's interest was piqued.

"I expect you to apologise to her later. Stuff like that really does hurt, Yang."

Her sister opened her mouth to argue, but at the rather strict scowl from Blake, she acquiesced and nodded.

"I'll…okay, at lunch."

Ruby was absolutely stunned. Not only had Blake decided to not fall for her sister's (admittedly very well deserved) charms, but she even got her sister to apologise for a joke, which she only did when she truly felt an apology was needed. She looked at Blake with newfound admiration, bordering on awe.

 _Her hair is...really pretty too…_

Blake nodded firmly before turning her gaze to Ruby. By this point, however, Ruby had long lost the sensibilities of social interactions, and she was instead staring directly at Blake, lost in the beautiful blackness of her hair.

 _She looks so soft…_

"Ruby?"

Ruby shook her head, feeling deep embarrassment for what had just happened.

 _Oh God she saw me staring! She's going to think I'm so we-_

Her thoughts were quickly cut off as Blake reached over and put the back of her hand to her forehead. Blake looked a bit concerned.

"Are you okay? Your face is really red…"

"A-Ah, yeah! Yeah, sorry, I just...uh, I zoned out is all. Sorry."

Blake smiled softly and ruffled her hair a bit before turning back to her book. Yang looked between the two with a curious ( _and devious_ ) smirk, while she could also feel an intense stare coming from Weiss behind her.

For Ruby, though, she felt nothing but utter bliss.

 _I'm sorry Yang…but there will be no mercy._

* * *

 _Ha! She thinks I didn't see that, but I certainly did! I will be writing this in my report to Ozpin…_

Professor Port's class had already ended, and he was currently in his planning period. Usually, he would spend the time preparing maps for the next class, but he had a mission from Ozpin, and Peter would be damned if he didn't keep up to date on every mission he was given.

 _Quite odd that he would have me watching those three teams specifically. Still, no questions asked._

He continued writing his report, and after a while had it completely ready to send. Of course, he gave his manuscript a good read, just to double check all of his information.

 **TEAM JNPR:**

 **Mr. Arc:** Fell asleep halfway through the class. Drools.

 **Mr. Ren:** Paid attention during class. Very close to Nora, childhood friends perhaps?

 **Miss Valkyrie:** Was seen sticking paper wads in Mr. Arc's hair, before Mr. Ren suggested she stop. She then switched to pencils.

 **Miss Nikos:** Would glance at Miss Belladonna and smile, then glance at Miss Fall and frown. Still, she took notes. Studious.

 **TEAM RWBY:**

 **Miss Xiao Long:** Did not pay attention in class. She had a poking contest with Miss Rose. (Reminds me of University), and would look over to Miss Belladonna's book every so often. She came in with her textbook though, which is quite odd.

 **Miss Rose:** See notes on Miss Xiao Long. She was very red faced as she was leaving the classroom. Could she possibly have a fever? Keep an eye out.

 **Miss Schnee:** An excellent student! Not once did she stop taking notes, even when glaring at Miss Rose and Miss Xiao Long! Her glare subsided into a small smile before returning to her notes…Miss Belladonna? She also glared at Miss Rose for some time, though for an unknown reason.

 **Miss Belladonna:** Was reading her textbook for almost all of the class. Good start. She received quite a bit of attention from the other students during class, though for unknown reasons, and thus seems to be an unconscious distraction. Odd interaction with Miss Xiao Long and Miss Rose, though I did not get a good look.

 **TEAM MENC:**

 **Mr. Black:** Fell asleep, like Mr. Arc. Does not drool, but does mumble.

 **Miss Sustrai:** Her and Miss Fall spoke quite a bit during class, whispering. Unsure as to what they were whispering about. Both would glance towards Miss Belladonna.

 **Miss Fall:** See notes on Miss Sustrai.

 **Miss Politan:** Took excellent notes for the most part, though at one point she turned around to sign to Miss Belladonna. Seems very helpful.

 **Notes:** Miss Belladonna has become an object of intrigue to many students.

"Stupendous! These reports remind me of the ones I would make back in the Scouts!"

Peter triumphantly sent his report through his scroll. Though he originally had misgivings about Ozpin's plan regarding the observance of the students and trying to pair Glynda with Miss Belladonna, he had to admit that it was very, very exciting!

 _Ah, this makes me want to break out my old blunderaxe! Maybe I should show it off for tomorrow's class…I have numerous tales revolving around that beauty!_

* * *

 **AN: A very late and apologetic privyet, my little pirozhki! General Katyusha here, and I want to be the first (and only) to apologise for both how long it took getting this out and the shortness of the chapter (compared to the others).**

 **Regarding the lateness: I had my finals recently, and now I have my level design class, so I haven't had a lot of free time lately. I've also been a bit lethargic regarding my interest lately, but I'm going to fight my way through that (again)!**

 **As for the chapter length: I really wanted to get something out for you guys, honestly. I do plan on making this the format. Instead of 10K+ single chapters, each little "part" with be two 5-7K chapters.**

 **What that means is that, while each individual chapter will be shorter, you will get chapters sooner, and the parts will be the same length, more or less.**

 **Of course, tell me what you think of this new format! Xорошо? He** **хорошо? Tell me!**

 **This has been General Katyusha, signing off!**


	4. Chapter IV: First Day (Part II)

Glynda found nothing more enjoyable than the first day of CQC training. There was always the moment where students are completely stunned to find that they'll be learning to fight, followed by the moment of uncertainty when she calls one of the students forward for a training spar. After she completely stomps them into the ground (she always calls on the strongest looking or smuggest student for extra effect), she then relishes in pairing up the weaker looking students with a stronger, more experienced student, and found a sadistic pleasure in the looks of terror on their faces.

 _Ah yes, the one class where I can take out some of my frustrations on the most aggravating of my students. Now…Miss Xiao Long, or Mr. Winchester, who should I spar against?_

It didn't take too long before her students walked in, each one taking in a full (and slightly confused) look of the room. Glynda suppressed the desire to snicker at their confusion.

 _As always, expecting a normal looking classroom, and finding nothing but martial weapons, barbed wire, training dummies, and the many medical kits scattered about._

As Team RWBY came in, Glynda was surprised to see that Blake looked very nonplussed, and that Miss Xiao Long looked…almost eager to get started. Ever more surprising were the rather muted reactions from Miss Rose and Miss Schnee, who both looked as if they expected this.

 _Seems like they might have martial training already. I knew that Yang already did, and I figured that Ruby would have picked up some from her sister, but Blake and Weiss are surprising._

Team JNPR walked in not too long after, and she nearly lost her composure at the look on Mr. Arc's face. The look of absolute terror that crossed his features was almost too much for her, truly. Miss Nikos looked confident, as did Mr. Ren, while Miss Valkyrie looked…eerily excited. It concerned Glynda quite a bit. She noticed as well how Mr. Winchester looked at Mr. Arc with an almost hungry grin, and that set her mind for her first spar.

Finally, Team MENC walked in. She noticed how Miss Nikos and Miss Fall became locked in a staring contest, a sort of silent challenge sent between the two, while Emerald and Mr. Black simply walked over to an empty spot near Team RWBY and Team JNPR. The way Miss Politan stared at her with expectation made Glynda feel both proud and uncomfortable.

 _Looks like this year will be a bit different than usual…fascinating._

"Welcome to Basic CQC," she said, taking a rather imposing stance, "I am Professor Glynda. In this class, you will be taught the basics of martial fighting, whether with your fists…" Miss Xiao Long cracked her knuckles, a big smile on her face, "Or with a blade." At this, Miss Schnee and Miss Politan both smiled.

"To show you what I mean, I will have a quick sparring match with Mr. Winchester. Consider this a test of your skills in front of your peers."

Mr. Winchester exchanged some high fives and fist bumps with his teammates before stepping forward, a look of smug confidence on his face.

 _I can't wait to wipe that away._

"What is your weapon of choice, Mr. Winchester?"

"Uh…" he looked around the room before grabbing a wooden practice club, "This looks good."

Glynda nodded, and she decided that a weapon would not be needed for this fight. She took a defensive stance, before nodding towards Mr. Winchester to begin. To the side, she heard Miss Xiao Long excitedly mention "judo," which thoroughly impressed her.

 _She knows a bit of the other arts. She might actually be my best student._

She was not surprised as Mr. Winchester charged forward, bringing his club high above his head for his strike. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

 _This will be easier than anticipated. How sad._

As he began to bring his club down, she reached forward and grabbed his weapon before stepping forward under his swing. She pulled hard, and with the strong grip that Mr. Winchester had, he was flipped onto his back, releasing his club as he landed. She then tapped the boy on the head with the club, smiling softly.

"That was easier than I anticipated, but you see what I am meaning. You will learn weaponised combat, unarmed combat, and plenty of defensive moves through your time here at Beacon. Any questions?"

Amid the fit of "ooh's," "wow's," and a very lovely ( _and improper_ ) "oh damn" from Miss Xiao Long, Mr. Arc raised his hand tentatively. Usually, Glynda would have wanted to completely blow by his question and continue the lesson, but at that moment she was feeling a bit forgiving.

 _I suppose combat makes me nicer. Maybe that makes me a sadist, but I don't think I care._

"Yes, Mr. Arc? What is your question?"

"Well…" he scratched the back of his neck nervously, "Why are we taking combat courses?" A few murmurs of agreement passed through the group of students, and Glynda had to admit that it was a very valid question.

"As many of you are well aware, Beacon Academy had gained its reputation through hundreds of years of teaching and training. You knew this as well, yes Mr. Arc?" After Jaune nodded hesitantly, she continued, "Early on, this academy was founded to train an elite group of warriors known as "Hunters," and later on, this included their female counterpart, "Huntresses." These men and women existed for the sole purpose of defending the people of Vale, and later all of Remnant, from the creatures known as Grimm."

Mr. Black snorted, "To defend us from a bunch of fairy tales?"

"Mr. Black, if you wish to interrupt me, I will be having you next for a spar." At her glare, Mr. Black looked away and muttered a soft apology.

"Now, yes, we have not had evidence of Grimm for quite a long time, so it is assumed that they are merely fantasy now, but that does not change what this academy was founded for. As such, we keep to our traditions by instilling the martial arts into our students as well as academic prowess. Does that answer your question, Mr. Arc?"

"Ah…y-yeah, thank you Miss Goodwitch."

"Good. Now, I will be splitting you into training pairs. Volunteers first, of course."

Right away, Miss Nikos and Miss Fall raised their hands.

 _As expected._

"Yes, Miss Nikos and Miss Fall? Are you volunteering to be sparring partners?"

The two girls looked at each other for a brief moment, glaring, before turning back to her and nodding. Glynda couldn't help but find the little competition to be…rather cute, actually.

 _No better way to settle bad blood than with a nice bout of fisticuffs._

"Excellent. Weapons are over on the wall there, feel free to suit up with what you need." Glynda pointed towards the wall behind her, and the two girls made their way over. Miss Nikos grabbed a wooden buckler and xiphos, while Miss Fall grabbed two scimitars from the wall.

 _Sword and board against whirling dervish…what an interesting matchup._

"Any other pairs?" At her askance, Miss Xiao Long raised her hand, grinning.

"Do you have anyone in mind, Miss Xiao Long?"

"Can I take on the entire class?"

"That's the final exam, Miss Xiao Long. Who do you want for your sparring partner in the meantime?"

"Uh…" she looked over the students, humming lightly, before Miss Politan raised her hand. Miss Xiao Long pointed to her, "Looks like Ice Cream wants to brawl!"

Glynda nodded softly before pointing to the weapon wall. Outwardly, she was calm and collected, but she couldn't help feel rather worried for Miss Xiao Long. Something about Miss Politan gave her the vibe that she would be more than a fair match for Miss Xiao Long.

"Any others?" She asked, noticing that Miss Xiao Long went weaponless while Miss Politan grabbed an estoc. None of her other students raised their hands.

"Very well. Miss Schnee and Miss Rose will be partners, as will Mr. Black and Mr. Arc. Mr. Ren and- never mind, you're already sparring with Miss Valkyrie, that's fine. Miss Sustrai and Miss Belladonna will face off as well. For the rest of you, you're based on partners. Mr. Wukong and Mr. Vasilias, you will be sparring against one another, and don't be late to my class again!"

"Besides that, arm up, and start sparring. This will be a sort of benchmark to see where you all stand regarding combat."

Her students went off to grab their choice of weapons, with a few going completely unarmed. She was rather worried when Miss Rose grabbed a scythe from the wall, but the way that she wielded the weapon calmed any worries that Glynda had. As the students began their sparring, her eyes wandered the groups, taking particular interest in the teams she was overseeing.

She turned her attention over to where Miss Nikos and Miss Fall were sparring, and found that she was tempted to stop their fight after seeing the relentless pounding the two had taken. Miss Fall had several bruises along her cheek and she was favouring her left side quite a bit, while Miss Nikos was holding her shield with a rather limp grip, as if her arm had taken some nasty shots. However, noticing the fire of their fight made her decide against it.

 _Whatever issue they have, they'll beat it out._

Hearing a startled scream to the left, she saw that Mr. Arc was having a bit of a difficult time against Mr. Black, who was relentlessly pummelling his shield with rapid-fire kicks. She couldn't help but sigh.

 _He needs to drop his shield and attack._

Shaking her head slightly, she looked over to Miss Xiao Long and Miss Politan, who were both locked in a heated…hugging match? Miss Xiao Long had her arms wrapped tightly around little Miss Politan, who was struggling with all of her might. Miss Xiao Long had a cut along her cheek, and several bruises along her arms, while Miss Politan was mostly unharmed…except for maybe her dignity. Walking over, she heard a girlish squeal from Miss Xiao Long.

"Oh my gosh you are just so darn cuuuuuuute!"

Miss Politan responded by delivering a hard kick to Miss Xiao Long's shin, causing her to quickly let her go. She then grabbed her estoc from the ground and charged at Miss Xiao Long, who rolled out of the way at the last moment. She was grinning as she stood, her eyes shining brightly, and she dashed forward.

"Oooh I am totally going to get more snuggle time out of you, Neo!"

 _Taking back what I said earlier, Miss Xiao Long is truly a force to be reckoned with._

Looking over to Miss Schnee and Miss Rose, she found that they were locked in a rather interesting bout of grace. Miss Rose moved with very unusual speed, while Miss Schnee had the most proper fencing stance that she had ever seen in all her years of teaching. Miss Rose used the length of her weapon to her advantage, while Miss Schnee attacked gracefully in close quarters. The two had taken more than a few hits, though they both seemed pleased with the battle.

 _Nothing bonds people more than a good match._

Still, thinking of snuggling, she turned her attention towards Blake and Miss Sustrai, who were both engaged in a beautiful dance of backflips and counter-attacks. She watched Blake closely, pleased to find that she utilised the range of her kusarigama to its fullest ability, while Miss Sustrai did everything she could to get close. She found that they were both talented combatants…but she couldn't help but appreciate Blake's fancy footwork a whole lot more, no bias of course.

 _Not an easy weapon to master, but damn does she move well! She knows her strength is range too, and those backflips are masterful! Where did she learn to move like that?_

"Nora! Wa-"

Glynda looked to the far right of the room to find that Miss Valkyrie had swung her hammer a bit too hard and missed Mr. Ren as he rolled away, instead bringing the hammer through a wooden dummy on the other side, smashing it into splinters. The girl snickered, laughed, and then went back to swinging at Mr. Ren, who was worriedly dodging her swings, apparently not finding a good opportunity to strike…or not feeling the will to strike. Still, his movements were fluid, and eventually he was able to trip Miss Valkyrie with a sweep of his leg, and she responded with a gentle "boop" on his nose…right before she delivered a swift uppercut to his chin.

Glynda could not have felt any prouder at that moment.

 _A strong batch of fighters this year! Fantastic!_

* * *

"Aren't you supposed to be a boxer?" Blake couldn't help but sigh as she dabbed alcohol onto a cut above Yang's eye, causing her to wince, "The object of boxing is to punch the other guy, right? Not to cop a feel?"

Yang stuck her tongue out at Blake.

"Hugging is a tactic in boxing!"

Professor Goodwitch's class had ended not too long ago, and the teams were now free to go to lunch or roam the school grounds. Blake took Yang back to the dorms after the class to take care of her wounds, while Weiss and Ruby went off to the cafeteria, promising to bring back some food for them. Team JNPR and Team MENC also went off to the cafeteria, though Neo blew a raspberry at Yang before heading off.

Blake sighed as she placed a plaster over the cut, "Obviously it didn't work for you. Truth be told, Yang, you look like crap right now."

Yang winked at her, "Didn't know that crap could look this good."

"Don't flatter yourself. Now, please, remove your top."

Yang looked surprised, and she clutched the front of her uniform in mock worry, "Blake, you're supposed to ask the lady out to dinner first! To take advantage of me in my vulnerable state…"

Blake couldn't help but chuckle, "Again, don't flatter yourself. I'm just checking to make sure you don't have any open cuts along your sides or back. I saw you take some pretty brutal kicks there."

"Yeah, Neo put up quite a battle." Yang said softly, unbuttoning her vest. Blake took the vest after it was unbuttoned and assisted Yang in removing her undershirt, leaving her in her bra and skirt. Blake's eyes went wide with what she saw.

 _Wow, she really took some big damage._

Yang's sides and back were peppered with black and blue splotches, with a few really nasty masses lower down her back. Blake was honestly surprised that Yang was able to shrug off what was obviously very painful. She noticed several cuts along her back as well, and she began to take care of them.

"Hey, Blake," Yang asked, leaning forward as Blake worked on her back, "Where did you learn this stuff?"

"Father had me take some basic and advanced first aid classes," she said, placing another plaster over a cut. Yang flinched slightly as she began to sanitise another cut. After cleaning off some of the dried blood, she found that the cuts were actually very minor, though the bruises were far from it.

 _If this was fiction, she'd have "a few broken ribs" but be otherwise "alright." As it stands, she's just becoming a leopard._

"Well, I'm glad he taught you! Usually Ruby would be patching me up right now." Yang's grin was quickly replaced with a cringe as Blake applied a healthy dose of rubbing alcohol into one of Yang's cuts.

"Ruby knows first aid?" _That girl is just full of surprises it seems…_

"Yeah," Yang chuckled, "She took a few herbal medicine classes back in Signal, even started an herbalism club. She loves the stuff, and since I enjoy boxing, she gets to use me for a test subject."

Blake snickered as she applied a bandage, "Sounds like a win-win for her then, eh?"

"Yeah, you could say that!" Yang turned her head towards Blake, smiling. Blake smiled back, and after applying a few more patches, she patted her on the back.

"Well, that should be good. Don't do anything too stressful for a few days though."

"Thanks Blake…" Yang looked away from Blake, and she swore that a little bit of a blush was on her face, "Ah, I'm just wondering…"

"Go on." Blake leaned forward a bit, curious about the change in tone of Yang.

 _From comedy to seriousness at the drop of a pin…I swear, everyone changes tone at the drop of a pin!_

"Do you, ah…do you like anyone?"

Blake was rather taken aback by Yang's question, "What, you mean romantically?" When Yang nodded, she sighed, "I'm not sure, honestly. I've only been here for a day, just about."

"Alright, different question: Are you gay?"

"Was that a bit of hope that I heard there, Miss Xiao Long?"

"Don't dodge the question, Miss Belladonna."

Blake chuckled and leaned back against the bed behind her, "I suppose I could be? I've never found any guys to be all that interesting. Too…loud, boisterous, hormonal, but at the same time, I've never given it all that much thought either way."

"Well…do you find any of us girls attractive?" Yang not-so-subtly puffed her chest out, giving Blake a wink. She rolled her eyes in response, smiling.

 _Flirting, so soon after getting your arse handed to you? Confident and classy! Let's get rid of that confidence._

"Well, I mean, Ruby is absolutely adorable. I really love the cape, and Neo is really cute too, though sometimes she looks a bit…unhinged when she smiles. Weiss is rather cute as well, and the scar really adds to her looks instead of subtracting. Pyrrha…I'm honestly really jealous of her hair. That shade of red is absolutely fascinating, and she takes really good care of her body too. I absolutely adore Emerald's eyes as well, for about the same reasons, and Cinder has a sort of smouldering sensuality in the way she moves and looks…but she doesn't have a single bit of that when she's talking to me, alone at least. Professor Goodwitch looks absolutely lovely when she's smiling, and she's honestly a really beautiful woman…" Blake was watching Yang as she spoke, and was amused at the slowly crumbling bravado as she went through all of their compatriots. Mentioning Glynda was icing on the cake, as Yang whimpered softly.

"And you Yang? Well, you are definitely a beautiful woman. Toned body, gorgeous hair, nice rack, I'm sure you'd be able to snatch up anyone you choose."

Yang's draining optimism was quickly replenished in that one moment, and she flashed Blake a suave grin, "Oh? Saved the best for last?"

"Suuuuure thing Yang, if that helps you sleep at night." Blake chuckled, and Yang chuckled with her.

A small cough came from the doorway, and the two turned to see that the rest of their team had returned…along with Team JNPR, Team MENC, and Glynda. Judging from the way that the ladies were blushing, Blake could assume that they had been there for quite a while, and she felt her face heat up.

 _Oh…well, that's embarrassing._

"Welcome, ah, welcome back," she said, clearing her throat, "Are we all having lunch in here or something?"

Ruby nodded meekly, "Y-Yeah, we were just going to bring back some lunch for you and Yang, but…"

"Team MENC and Team JNPR decided to invite themselves along," Weiss finished for her, and Blake saw a quick pout cross her face.

"I can see that…are you joining us as well, Gl- er, Professor Goodwitch?"

Glynda nodded, "Yes. As your team overseer, it is recommended that I have lunch with you."

"That makes sense," Blake said, nodding, "But wouldn't Team MENC have to eat with their overseer as well?"

As if on cue, Glynda's scroll dinged. She pulled it out of her pocket, and began to read it to herself. Blake watched the rather neutral look on her face slowly turn into a scowl, though when she put the scroll back into her pocket, her face went back to her normal look.

"Apparently, Headmaster Ozpin wants me to oversee Team MENC as well. Something about Professor Peach only having one team to oversee, and I am apparently the only professor 'talented' enough to handle three." Glynda sighed, and Blake giggled softly.

"Well, you are very capable Professor Goodwitch. I'm sure the twelve of us will not be an issue for you." Blake smiled at Glynda, and her professor blushed lightly.

"T-Thank you, Blake."

"First name basis with Professor Goodwitch, Blake?" Yang looked between the two, grinning, "Goodness, you work fast!"

"Miss Xiao Long, unless you want detention, I suggest getting dressed."

"Yes Miss Goodwitch…"

Yang grabbed her shirt and vest and began putting them on, while Blake made a small area in the middle of the floor for everyone to sit, putting away bottles of rubbing alcohol and other assorted medical supplies.

"Well, if we're going to eat in this tiny room, take a seat. Professor Goodwitch, if you would like, you may take a seat on my bed. Weiss, do you mind if we sit on your bed?"

Weiss shook her head, "I suppose I could make an exception for today."

With that, everyone took seats around the room, with Team RWBY sitting very closely on Weiss's bed, Team MENC sitting on the floor across from Team JNPR, and with Glynda having a lofty seat on Blake's bed. Before Blake could sit down on the bed, Ruby handed her a small box.

"It was left in our team mailbox," Ruby said, "Has your name on it though."

Blake nodded and said thanks before taking a look at the shipping label.

 _A package? From Aya Bell- oh, mom sent me some stuff._

She opened up the box, and was pleased to see a small note, along with several small tins of tea. She set the box and letter on her nightstand, smiling softly. She figured that mom would be sending her some stuff from home soon, but she didn't expect them to be sent just a day after getting to the school.

"Mom works fast it seems."

She took her seat between Ruby and Yang, grabbing the small lunch tray that Weiss had set to the side. The teams had some rather amicable conversation, mostly "get to know you" stuff, but Blake found it to be rather interesting. Even Glynda joined in, though when Blake teased her about it, she defended her actions by saying that it was "best to know the students she would be observing."

However, halfway through their lunch, Glynda's scroll began to beep. Her professor looked at the scroll, and Blake could tell from the slight twitching in her eye that the news whatever was sent was definitely not "positive." Glynda quickly pocketed her scroll and stood, her face set in a terse scowl.

"I'm sorry, but I will have to cut my time here short," she said, barely restrained anger in her voice, "Apparently, Headmaster Ozpin and my other…associates are in the process of, well, needing a good talking to."

Before anyone could ask questions, Glynda made her way out of the room. Blake furrowed her brow as she watched the older woman leave, and though her attention was brought back to her fellow classmates, she couldn't help but wonder what had gotten Glynda so riled up.

* * *

Ozpin was sitting behind his desk with a wry smile on his face. He had just received Peter's report over the students in his class, and he was getting some rather good ideas on what to do with all of them. Operation 'Wings of Glory' had now transcended into Operation 'Minefield,' due to the amount of obstacles in his path.

 _I would have never expected all of them to show the same interests as Glynda! This game is getting much more…interesting._

He also called Peter and Bartholemew to his office, and the two had taken seats across from him. They both looked a bit perturbed, and Peter had decided to bring what was left of his lunch to the meeting, enjoying what was left of his BLT. Bartholemew, of course, had a liquid lunch. He and Ozpin shared that quality.

"So," Peter set down his sandwich and swallowed the bite he had taken, "Why have you called us here? Not that I am against the company, but I was under the assumption that we were to eat with our teams."

"Indeed, Ozpin, I am wondering why as well," Oobleck took a swig from his thermos, leaning forward slightly.

Ozpin nodded and looked to Peter, "Your report is exactly why I called you here, Peter."

Peter frowned, "Was it not satisfactory?"

Ozpin chuckled and shook his head, "No, no, it was very well detailed…but that was expected of a former Scout."

Peter puffed his chest out proudly, and both Oobleck and Ozpin had to supress their laughter at the little crumbs that visibly flew from his moustache.

"However, I do have one…problem with your report…" Ozpin grabbed his scroll and turned it to Peter, "You might be able to see it."

Peter leaned forward and read the report to himself, mumbling softly before furrowing his brow and shaking his head, "No, I don't see it. It looks just as I sent it, and nothing is misspelled."

Ozpin smiled and pointed towards the top of the email, "Read this aloud for us."

"From: Peter Port…To: Ozpin, Bartholemew Oobleck- wait, Oobleck?"

Bartholemew nodded, "Indeed, I was wondering why you were sharing your report with me. I figured it might have been to compare notes, but I hadn't been given the task of taking any," after a short pause, he added, "Actually, none of us were made to take notes…you were the only one."

Ozpin chuckled, "Yes, well, Peter here is quite the overachiever! There's one more name there, though."

He watched as Peter read the name, and reread the name, before he fell back into his chair, his face turning pale. Bartholemew shook his head and sipped from his thermos, while Ozpin took a drink from his mug.

"You mean…I…"

The door to the room burst open, and the trio looked to find one very irate Glynda Goodwitch. She slammed the door closed and began stalking to the desk. Peter, visibly shaking, stood and held his hands in front of him.

"N-Now Glynda, I can expla-"

"Peter, get back in your seat!"

With a whimper, he did as commanded. Bartholemew looked away from Glynda, not wanting to meet her gaze, while Ozpin merely watched her with a look of minor amusement.

"Glynda, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You're taking notes over my students?" The vehemence in her voice was not hidden.

Ozpin shook his head, "No, we are not. Peter decided to take the notes all on his own, isn't that right Bartholemew?"

Bartholemew nodded, "Indeed it is, Ozpin."

Peter looked between the two men with fear and betrayal in his eyes…or at least, that's what Ozpin and Bartholemew gathered from his posture. They merely looked away from him and took their drinks, while Glynda placed her hand on Peter's shoulder…roughly.

"Peter…" her voice was very calm and quiet, which scared Peter more than if she were shouting at him, "What, exactly, are you doing taking information like this?"

"I-I-I was just…ah, I was just checking in on my students! Yes!"

"And is there a reason that you're putting so much focus on Blake?"

Ozpin looked up curiously, "Blake?"

He knew that he caught Glynda in an odd predicament, because she visibly flinched before sighing, "Miss Belladonna."

Ozpin smirked and leaned back in his chair, "Oh, no, please…continue to call her what you wish, Glynda. I didn't realise that you were on a first name basis with her!"

"Ozpin…"

He chuckled and waved his hands, "I'm teasing, Glynda. It was simply a verbal slip, of course."

 _But we both know that it was far from a slip, Glynda. You don't call just anyone by their first name._

* * *

The teams had since finished their lunch, and were heading to what Weiss figured would be her second favourite class of them all. She loved numbers, and she knew that Professor Scheiderer's class would be a cake walk for her.

 _After all, accounting requires great skill with numbers, and she that in spades._

Her announcement of their next class, however, had brought a myriad of reactions from everyone. Cinder frowned, as did Emerald, while Neo merely nodded with a soft smile on her face. Mercury, Jaune, Yang, and Ruby all had varying looks of terror on their faces, with Jaune and Mercury looking near identical. Nora whimpered while Ren put an arm around her shoulders, and both Pyrrha and Blake merely nodded in response.

 _That doesn't bode well for potential study groups…_

Looking back to the three who didn't show any fear, she smirked.

 _Or maybe that bodes perfectly well for potential study groups._

Entering the class, she was surprised to find that they were actually the first ones there, unlike the last two classes that they had. Professor Scheiderer was not present either, so the groups took their own seats around the middle of the room, with Team RWBY sitting between Team JNPR, who sat above them, and Team MENC, who sat below them. Weiss sat in relative silence, looking over her notes to better prepare for the class. It also worked well at taking her attention away from the grating whines of Ruby and Yang.

 _Pythagorean Theorem? Trigonometry? Graphing? All of this is absolute child's play!_

"R-Rubes," Weiss heard Yang's shaky voice from her left, "Do you know the difference between sine and cosine?"

The resulting whimper from the younger girl was the answer that Yang needed apparently, because she grabbed onto her sister and the two silently wept. At this point, Weiss wasn't sure if it was a round of theatrics, or if the two were seriously this scared of something so easy. She turned away from the two sisters and looked towards Blake, pleased to see that she was reading-

 _Never mind, she's still reading that other book._

"Well, Blake, it looks like we're the only two with an idea of how math works!"

Blake looked over from her book, a confused look on her face, "What do you mean?"

Weiss chuckled and pointed her thumb towards Yang and Ruby behind her, "I don't think those two will be contributing much."

Blake looked back to her book, though this time she was reading the textbook behind it. After a few moments, she looked back towards Weiss.

"Uh…so, you'll help the rest of us, right?" Blake smiled nervously, and Weiss could sense the fear in her.

 _Her confidence was a front. That's…that's good for me!_

"I suppose I can…but only because we need our team on the same level, Belladonna." Of course, Weiss was not being entirely truthful. While she did want the team to be more or less on the same level because that would look good on them as a whole, the idea of teaching Blake really appealed to her. It always seemed like she was…out of reach in a way.

Blake nodded in agreement, and went back to her book. Satisfied, Weiss turned back to her own notes, though she found that everything was going to be a review more or less. Still, she hoped that it would help her teammates at least. After all, not everyone had access to a team of tutors and scholars like she did.

 _Not that that was the only reason why I learned. I studied on my own too, and I didn't really 'need' those advisors._

Eventually, the professor walked in and sat down at her desk, no doubt getting the lesson plan ready for the day. The rest of the class soon followed, and most held a look of complete apprehension at the thought of doing maths.

Weiss could only smirk. _We will mop the floor with them in any competition._

Of course, the class went about rather normally. Introductions, getting familiar with the book, and then a set of review problems for the class to do in order to get back in the swing of things. Weiss finished the thirty questions with no hassle, and her teammates took notice.

"Hey, Weiss," Yang leaned towards her, whispering, "What's the quadratic formula?"

Weiss, without missing a beat, opened her notebook and pointed to the formula on the page. Yang looked at it, and frowned.

"But there isn't a b, a, or c in this problem!"

Weiss leaned over to Yang's work, and quickly looked down the page. She felt nothing but cold terror.

 _H-How did she get a negative area for square…and think that was the answer._

Still, she steeled herself. She was going to help her team no matter what, and what better place to start than with Yang and Ruby?

"Well, Yang, let's go ahead and work on these from the very top, okay?"

Yang nodded, and Weiss began to pick apart each and every single question, showing Yang why she was wrong and what the proper formulas and procedures were. Ruby, sitting right by her sister, was eager to learn as well, though she didn't need _as_ much help as Yang.

"Of course, it's a lot easier to just graph the thing using your scroll's graph function than to write this down each and every time."

"Our scroll has a graph function?"

Weiss turned around in surprise, finding that Blake had scooted her chair over and was now peering over her shoulder, quietly listening.

 _She's close…_

"Y-Yes, there is," she said, pulling out her own scroll and turning it to the calculator function, "Simply press the x= button up here and it'll bring up an area to enter points and functions. Then press the graph button, and voila! Now, the different functions…"

Blake nodded silently as she explained the functions, and Weiss couldn't help but focus much more attention than is civil on her eyes. Something about her golden eyes made her lose focus of the world around her.

 _They're like pools of honey…_

"You like honey?" Ruby asked, taking Weiss from her reverie. She looked back at the girl, blushing furiously.

 _I said that aloud?! Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

"A-As a matter of fact, I do!" She stammered, and thankfully Ruby nodded, pleased with the answer.

"Nah, Weiss is hoping to get some 'honey'~" Yang nudged her sister in the side, and Weiss wanted to rip that stupid smirk from her face.

"Honey works really well in Earl Grey teas," Blake said, and Weiss was only thankful that she hadn't heard her entire sentence.

Blake leaned into her ear, "Though, as far as I know, eyes don't work well." She leaned away from Weiss and went back to her work, a smirk on her face, while Weiss's blush went away at the cost of becoming deathly pale.

"Uh…Weiss, are you okay?" Ruby asked, rather concerned. Weiss slowly nodded.

"I…I think so."

 _She isn't mad at least._

* * *

Ozpin had relocated to his classroom, the little meeting with his colleagues having ended not too long ago. He always enjoyed teaching diplomacy, knowing that it was a surprisingly good skill to have in life. To be able to defuse potential situations without resorting to violence or, sometimes even worse, compromises.

 _It is better to get someone on your side completely than to conform to a potentially dangerous idea._

However, he was in for a bit of a surprise this year. The previous years were done with him alone, and he felt that his job was perfectly acceptable. This year, though, he received a little email from the king and queen saying that they wished to partake in a teacher training programme with Atlas, and that his diplomacy class would be a good choice.

So he sent an email to his old colleague James, who had become a general with Atlas. Since it was a society that was borderline autocratic ( _and very difficult to work with as a result_ ), he knew that James would be able to get him someone who would want to work in diplomacy at his school. Expecting a negative, he was surprised when James sent word that a teacher would be arriving.

Today. And with absolutely no word given on who this mystery person would be.

So Ozpin was sitting at his desk, rather annoyed at being given no indication on who this person was, what their qualifications were, or even what time they would be arriving. When he asked, James simply said "That's classified."

 _Of course James would say that. Just like him to keep people in the dark. And he wonders why Glynda turned him down when he asked her to prom._

That memory always brought a chuckle to him. The look on James's face when she said that she was going to spend her evening at home with her studies was priceless.

A knock at his classroom's door brought him away from his memories. It was obviously not a student, and most teachers would have sent him a note on his scroll.

 _The mystery assistant perhaps?_

"Yes, the door is open." He said, sliding a few of his papers back into his desk.

The door opened, and in waltzed two guards in full armour and a woman that he recognised as a former student and from a few high society banquets that he had to attend for the simple fact that he was the headmaster of Beacon. Annoying affairs, but duty calls.

"Winter Schnee. A pleasure to see you again, though if you're looking for your sister she is currently in advanced mathematics."

She stepped forward and saluted, "I was assigned here by General Ironwood as part of the teaching programme."

Ozpin nearly spat his coffee onto his desk, and he quickly sat his cup down before he dropped it, "You are the mystery assistant?"

"Yes sir."

To say that he was surprised would have been an understatement. Winter was a good student, no doubt, but for a class based on working _with_ people and not simply working the people…

"You do realise that this is a class based on getting people to work with you, right?"

Winter looked a bit confused at the question, "Yes, I am well aware."

"Then what is with the armed guards?"

Winter looked at the two armed men, a soft "oh" coming from her lips, and Ozpin couldn't help but sigh heavily.

"Please send them back. Nothing makes a class more uncomfortable than several men with guns."

Winter nodded and sent the men back, who saluted before exiting the room. She turned back around to Ozpin, still standing at attention as if she were in the military. It was a bit off-putting to Ozpin.

"And please stop standing like you're welcoming a general," he said, standing from his seat, "That doesn't do well in a diplomatic situation."

"Is a show of force not a good tool of diplomacy?" She asked, her poker face strong.

 _Well, that is one good thing in diplomacy. Don't show emotion unless it's needed._

"It isn't when you're trying to get people to work with you, not for you."

Winter nodded, and she relaxed her position. Ozpin motioned to a smaller desk next to him, which was sparsely decorated.

"You can take this desk here."

"Thank you very much, Headmaster Ozpin." Winter walked over to her desk and took a seat, sitting straight. He sighed, and merely set a part of his lesson plan on her desk, along with a list of the students in the next class.

"It is always a good idea in diplomacy to know your parties of interest," he said, opening up the file, "This applies to teaching as well."

Winter nodded and began to look through the files. Seeing that she was going to be busy before the next class, he took back to his desk, going over his lesson plan some more. Still, the introduction of Winter was going to throw a bit of a wrench in his plans.

 _Indeed, if Winter also became an obstacle for Operation Minefield, I might have to rename it to Operation Atlesian Winter._

"Headmaster Ozpin," Winter stood from her desk and came over with the file, pointing at a name that he was all too aware of, "This is my sister's team?"

"Indeed it is," he said, hiding the concern in his voice, "Why? Does it concern you?"

"No, but I was wondering about this girl." She pointed to the last name that he wanted her to point out.

"What…about her?"

"Her family doesn't happen to own Jackie's, do they?"

 _Please let this be a business question and not what I'm worried about._

"Miss Belladonna's family does, indeed, own Jackie's."

Winter smiled, "Would it be against professional code to try and work a business deal with her family?"

 _Thank the Gods above_.

"After class is fine," he said, taking a long sip of his coffee, "But during class, we cannot allow such thoughts to influence our actions. Secondary agendas do nothing positive for the lessons plans."

Winter nodded, her face taking on a serious expression, "Of course, Headmaster Ozpin. I won't allow personal feelings to influence my teaching."

"Actually, I do have a question regarding that…" Ozpin said, leaning back in his chair, "What made you want to partake in this programme? Surely you could have taken a comfortable position with Atlas's military, or with your family's company, so why involve yourself with teaching?"

Winter took to her desk again, pondering the question that was asked. After a while, she answered, "I…actually didn't choose to do this. General Ironwood merely figured that I was the most suited candidate."

"Do you actually want to do this then? Teaching?" Ozpin asked, frowning slightly, "Or are you doing this solely for the military?"

Winter shook her head, "No, I do think that having another set of skills would be useful. Teaching can be applied to more than just a classroom."

Ozpin nodded, "Fair enough."

At that moment, the bell rang, and Ozpin quickly turned back around to face forward.

"The students will be here soon," he said, sorting his papers, "So tone down on the military."

Winter glared at him, but turned back to face the front. Honestly, Ozpin felt that the glare was actually a good thing, because it showed that she could show emotion besides stoic and ready to invade.

The students began to file in team by team, and eventually, Teams RWBY, MENC, and JNPR came in, taking a small chunk of the room for themselves. Ozpin quietly noted this in his notebook.

 _The three teams stick close together, no doubt because Belladonna is the object of interest._

Looking over to Winter, he saw that she was watching her sister's team very closely. Looking back to Team RWBY, he saw that Miss Schnee was excitedly talking to her team and pointing to Winter, no doubt excited to see her sister. Miss Xiao Long and Miss Rose were nodding and smiling, while Miss Belladonna looked between the two quite a bit, a bit confused. No doubt she knew something that the other two didn't.

He stood and loudly tapped his cane to the ground, quieting down the class and getting their attention…mostly. Miss Schnee excitedly waved to her sister, who smiled and nodded to her sister.

"Hello class, and welcome to Diplomacy 101. As you know, I am Headmaster Ozpin, and this is Miss Schnee, though for simplicity's sake, let's call her Miss Winter." He turned to Winter, who was now standing, "Is that fine with you, Miss Winter?"

She was still looking at her sister's team, but she nodded, "That is perfectly acceptable, Headmaster Ozpin."

"Er…very well then," he said, turning back to the class, "At any rate, let us begin."

 **AN: Privyet! This is General Katyusha, and I know that it looks like my "Two Chapter Plan" is looking like Stalin's Five Year Plan, but please let me explain!  
**

 **Between my ex-girlfriend's father passing and the release of Fallout 4, I haven't had much motivation nor time to write as much as I wanted. Really, thank RockTheVoteRTV for giving me the kick in the ass to get a move on with this!**

 **Besides that, I will say that future update will be a bit slow going. Again, radiation poisoning is coming through, and my Advanced Level Design class is starting for the next five weeks, so that will take up more free time.**

 **Anyway, I hope you lot enjoyed this chapter! I gave a lot of love to Glynda because she didn't get any time last chapter, and because she's 6'5" of pure beauty! Also, a new challenger appears! Dun dun dun!**

 **This is General Katyusha, signing off!**


End file.
